Far more crucial than what we know or do not know is what we do not want to know.

They who clamor loudest for freedom are often the ones least likely to be happy in a free society.

Nothing so offends the doctrinaire intellectual as our ability to achieve the momentous in a matter-of-fact way, unblessed by words.

One might equate growing up with a mistrust of words. A mature person trusts his eyes more than his ears. Irrationality often manifests itself in upholding the word against the evidence of the eyes. Children, savages and true believers remember far less what they have seen than what they have heard.

Vehemence is the expression of a blind effort to support and uphold something that can never stand on its own. Whether it is our own meaningless self we are upholding, or some doctrine devoid of evidence, we can do it only in a frenzy of faith.

Our achievements speak for themselves. What we have to keep track of are our failures, discouragements and doubts.

Self-esteem and self-contempt have specific odors; they can be smelled.