It is a blessed thing that in every age some one has had the individuality enough and courage enough to stand by his own convictions.

The Church has always been willing to swap off treasures in heaven for cash down.

The church hates a thinker precisely for the same reason a robber dislikes a sheriff, or a thief despises the prosecuting witness.

It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense.

Surely there is grandeur in knowing that in the realm of thought, at least, you are without a chain; that you have the right to explore all heights and depth; that there are no walls nor fences, nor prohibited places, nor sacred corners in all the vast expanse of thought.

Justice should remove the bandage from her eyes long enough to distinguish between the vicious and the unfortunate.

Jehovah was not a moral god. He had all the vices and he lacked all the virtues. He generally carried out all his threats, but he never faithfully kept a promise.