While friendship has been by far the chief source of my happiness, acquaintance or general society has always meant little to me, and I cannot quite understand why a man should wish to know more people than he can make real friends of.

I was at this time living, like so many Atheists or Antitheists, in a whirl of contradictions. I maintained that God did not exist. I was also very angry with God for not existing. I was equally angry with Him for creating a world.

Whenever a person dwells chiefly, or even frequently, on the faults of other people's religions, he is in a bad condition.

...if all we mean by our love is a craving to be loved, we are in a very deplorable state.

You can't see anything properly while your eyes are blurred with tears.

Everyone feels benevolent if nothing happens to be annoying him at the moment.

Thirst was made for water; inquiry for truth. What you now call the free play of inquiry has neither more nor less to do with the ends for which intelligence was given you than masturbation has to do with marriage.