Every high civilization decays by forgetting obvious things.
The criminal is the creative artist; the detective only the critic.
Very few reputations are gained by unsullied virtue.
The whole pleasure of marriage is that it is a perpetual crisis.
There are arguments for atheism, and they do not depend, and never did depend, upon science. They are arguable enough, as far as they go, upon a general survey of life; only it happens to be a superficial survey of life.
Americans are a very backward people, with all the real virtues of a backward people; the patriarchal simplicity and human dignity of a democracy, and a respect for labor uncorrupted by cynicism.