There's a good spot tucked away somewhere in everybody. You'll be a long time finding it, sometimes.

An author values a compliment even when it comes from a source of doubtful competency.

In all the ages the Roman Church has owned slaves, bought and sold slaves, authorized and encouraged her children to trade in them. . . . There were the texts; there was no mistaking their meaning; . . . she was doing in all this thing what the Bible had mapped out for her to do. So unassailable was her position that in all the centuries she had no word to say against human slavery.

The convention missionaries call "modesty" has no standard, and cannot have one, because it is opposed to nature and reason and is therefore an artificiality and subject to anybody's whim - anybody's diseased caprice.

Every man is a moon and has a side which he turns toward nobody: you have to slip around behind it if you want to see it.

You want to be very careful about lying; otherwise you are nearly sure to get caught.

It's better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is always right