... in America ... children are instructed in the virtues of the system they live under, as though history had achieved a happy ending in American civics.

As subjects, we all live in suspense, from day to day, from hour to hour; in other words, we are the hero of our own story. We cannot believe that it is finished, that we are 'finished,' even though we may say so; we expect another chapter, another installment, tomorrow or next week.

There are no new truths, but only truths that have not been recognized by those who have perceived them without noticing.

Modern neurosis began with the discoveries of Copernicus. Science made men feel small by showing him that the earth was not the center of the universe.

I was going to get myself recognized at any price. If I could not win fame by goodness, I was ready to do it by badness.

Congress-these, for the most part, illiterate hacks whose fancy vests are spotted with gravy, and whose speeches, hypocritical, unctuous, and slovenly, are spotted also with the gravy of political patronage.

The desire to believe the best of people is a prerequisite for intercourse with strangers; suspicion is reserved for friends.