The only glory most of us have to hope for is the glory of being normal.

... if we have a dollar to spend on some wild excess, we shall spend it on a book, not on asparagus out of season.

The past is discredited because it is not modern. Not to be modern is the great sin. So, perhaps, it is. But every one has, in his day, been modern. And surely even modernity is a poor thing beside immortality. Since we must all die, is it not perhaps better to be a dead lion than a living dog?

if you are perfectly willing to shock an individual verbally, the next thing you will be doing is to shock him practically.

There are only three things worthwhile -- fighting, drinking, and making love.

We put [young children] into kindergarten where their reasoning powers are ruined; or, if we can afford it, we buy Montessori outfits that were invented for semi-imbeciles in Italian slums; or we send them to outdoor schools and give them prizes for sleeping.

Most men have always wanted as much as they could get; and possession has always blunted the fine edge of their altruism.