The justification for those actions was that we were living in a very hard, predatory, cloak-and-dagger world and that the only way to deal with a totalitarian enemy was to intimidate him. The trouble with this theory was that while we live in a world of plot and counterplot, we also live in a world of cause and effect. Whatever the cause for the decision to legitimize and regularize deceit abroad, the inevitable effect was the practice of deceit at home.

The physician knows that his little black bag can carry him only so far and that the body's own healing system is the main resource.

The main trouble with despair is that it is self-fulfilling. People who fear the worst tend to invite it. Heads that are down can't scan the horizon for new openings. Bursts of energy do not spring from a spirit of defeat. Ultimately, helplessness leads to hopelessness.

Pessimism is a waste of time.

Where is the indignation about the fact that the US and USSR have thirty thousand pounds of destructive force for every human being in the world?

The essence of man is imperfection.

An adequate share of humor and laughter represents an essential part of the diet of the healthy person.