Only barbarians are not curious about where they come from, how they came to be where they are, where they appear to be going, whether they wish to go there, and if so, why, and if not, why not.

When one is engaged in a desperate defense of one's world and its values, nothing can be given away, any breach in the walls might be fatal, every point must be defended to the death.

When a man speaks of the need for realism one may be sure that this is always the prelude to some bloody deed.

The case against the notion of historical objectivity is like the case against international law, or international morality; that it does not exist.

The underlying assumption that human nature is basically the same at all times, everywhere, and obeys eternal laws beyond human control, is a conception that only a handful of bold thinkers have dared to question.

Out of the crooked timber of humanity, nothing completely straight was ever made

To understand is to perceive patterns.