The link between ideas and action is rarely direct. There is almost always an intermediate step in which the idea is overcome.

A doctrine insulates the devout not only against the realities around them but also against their own selves. The fanatical believer is not conscious of his envy, malice, pettiness and dishonesty. There is a wall of words between his consciousness and his real self.

The weakness of a soul is proportionate to the number of truths that must be kept from it.

It is the child in man that is the source of his uniqueness and creativeness, and the playground is the optimal milieu for the unfolding of his capacities and talents.

A person's creative ability decreases in direct proportion to the degree to which he takes himself seriously.

...in the shaping of a life, chance and the ability to respond to chance are everything.

There is a radicalism in all getting, and a conservatism in all keeping. Lovemaking is radical, while marriage is conservative.