A cosmic philosophy is not constructed to fit a man; a cosmic philosophy is constructed to fit a cosmos. A man can no more possess a private religion than he can possess a private sun and moon.

Very few people in the world would care to listen to the real defense of their own characters. The real defense, the defense which belongs to the Day of Judgment, would make such damaging admissions, would clear away so many artificial virtues, would tell such tragedies of weakness and failure, that a man would sooner be misunderstood and censured by the world than exposed to that awful and merciless eulogy.

[A pacifist is] the last and least excusable on the list of the enemies of society.

The State did not own men so entirely, even when it could send them to the stake, as it sometimes does now where it can send them to the elementary school.

We have had no good comic operas of late, because the real world has been more comic than any possible opera.

By experts in poverty I do not mean sociologists, but poor men.

Modern intelligence won't accept anything on authority. But it will accept anything without authority.