But we were born of risen apes, not fallen angels, and the apes were armed killers besides. And so what shall we wonder at? Our murders and massacres and missiles, and our irreconcilable regiments? Or our treaties whatever they may be worth; our symphonies however seldom they may be played; our peaceful acres, however frequently they may be converted into battlefields; our dreams however rarely they may be accomplished. The miracle of man is not how far he has sunk but how magnificently he has risen. We are known among the stars by our poems, not our corpses.

Men, unlike mockingbirds, have the capacity for systematic self-delusion. We echo each other with equal precision, equal eloquence, equal assurance.

Animal language is a contagious expression of mood effecting communication between social partners.

For the soundest of evolutionary reasons man appears at his best when times are worst.

We are born of risen apes, not fallen angels.

If you watch lizards and lions copulating, then you will see that in 200 million years the male has not had a single new idea.

Aggressiveness is the principal guarantor of survival.