All large political doctrines are rich in difficult problems - problems that are quite above the average citizen's reach. And that is not strange, since they are also above the reach of the ablest minds in the country; after all the fuss and all the talk, not one of those doctrines has been conclusively proven to be the right one and the best.

It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.

Optimist: Person who travels on nothing from nowhere to happiness.

Principles have no real force except when one is well-fed.

A distinguished man should be as particular about his last words as he is about his last breath. He should write them out on a slip of paper and take the judgment of his friends on them. He should never leave such a thing to the last hour of his life, and trust to an intellectual spurt at the last moment to enable him to say something smart with his latest gasp and launch into eternity with grandeur.

When one's character begins to fall under suspicion and disfavor, how swift, then, is the work of disintegration and destruction.

Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.