The philosophy of the common man is an old wife that gives him no pleasure, yet he cannot live without her, and resents any aspersions that strangers may cast on her character.

Nothing you can lose by dying is half as precious as the readiness to die, which is man's charter of nobility.

Does the thoughtful man suppose that...the present experiment in civilization is the last world we will see?

Popular poets are the parish priests of the Muse, retailing her ancient divinations to a long since converted public.

The primary use of conversation is to satisfy the impulse to talk.

...science is nothing but developed perception, interpreted intent, common-sense rounded out and minutely articulated. It is therefore as much an instinctive product, as much a stepping forth of human courage in the dark, as is any inevitable dream or impulsive action.

My atheism, like that of Spinoza, is true piety towards the universe and denies only gods fashioned by men in their own image, to be servants of their human interests.