It is a sign of creeping inner death when we can no longer praise the living.

Radicalism itself ceases to be radical when absorbed mainly in preserving its control over a society or an economy.

The savior who wants to turn men into angels is as much a hater of human nature as the totalitarian despot who wants to turn them into puppets.

The ability to get along without an exceptional leader is the mark of social vigor.

Our sense of power is more vivid when we break a man's spirit than when we win his heart.

Man is a luxury-loving animal. Take away play, fancies, and luxuries, and you will turn man into a dull, sluggish creature, barely energetic enough to obtain a bare subsistence. A society becomes stagnant when its people are too rational or too serious to be tempted by baubles.

If a society is to preserve stability and a degree of continuity, it must learn how to keep its adolescents from imposing their tastes, values, and fantasies on everyday life.