Jesus was not a Christian, nor was Marx a Marxist.

EVERY intense desire is perhaps basically a desire to be different from what we are.

All mass movements strive, therefore, to interpose a fact-proof screen between the faithful and the realities of the world. They do this by claiming that the ultimate and absolute truth is already embodied in their doctrine and that there is no truth nor certitude outside it. The facts on which the true believer bases his conclusions must not be derived from his experience or observation but from holy writ.

We can never really be prepared for that which is wholly new. We have to adjust ourselves, and every radical adjustment is a crisis in self-esteem: we undergo a test, we have to prove ourselves. It needs subordinate self-confidence to face drastic change without inner trembling.

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

It is when power is wedded to chronic fear that it becomes formidable.

Action can give us the feeling of being useful, but only words can give us a sense of weight and purpose.