For many people, an excuse is better than an achievement because an achievement, no matter how great, leaves you having to prove yourself again in the future; but an excuse can last for life.

Power corrupts the few, while weakness corrupts the many.

The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.

In human affairs, the best stimulus for running ahead is to have something we must run from.

The opposite of the religious fanatic is not the fanatical atheist but the gentle cynic who cares not whether there is a god or not.

Vaguely at first, then more distinctly, I realized that man is an eternal stranger on this planet.

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.