One of the most pathetic aspects of human history is that every civilization expresses itself most pretentiously, compounds its partial and universal values most convincingly, and claims immortality for its finite existence at the very moment when the decay which leads to death has already begun.

The recalcitrant forces in the historical drama have a power and persistence beyond our reckoning.

Religion is so frequently a source of confusion in political life, and so frequently dangerous to democracy, precisely because it introduces absolutes into the realm of relative values.

It is the evil in man that makes democracy necessary, and man's belief in justice that makes democracy possible.

All social cooperation on a larger scale than the most intimate social group requires a measure of coercion.

I think that the achievements of Catholicism on race are very, very impressive.

There are historic situations in which refusal to defend the inheritance of a civilization, however imperfect, against tyranny and aggression may result in consequences even worse than war.