War grows out of ordinary human nature.

Uncertainty in the pressure of vivid hopes and fears is painful, but must be endured if we wish to live without the support of comforting fairy tales.

There is no greater reason for children to honour parents than for parents to honour children except, that while the children are young, the parents are stronger than children.

The twin conceptions of sin and vindictive punishment seem to be at the root of much that is most vigorous, both in religion and politics.

In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.

Belief in God and a future life makes it possible to go through life with less of stoic courage than is needed by skeptics.

The demand for certainty is one which is natural to man, but is nevertheless an intellectual vice. So long as men are not trained to withhold judgment in the absence of evidence, they will be led astray by cocksure prophets, and it is likely that their leaders will be either ignorant fanatics or dishonest charlatans. To endure uncertainty is difficult, but so are most of the other virtues.