Much as a teacher may wince at the thought, he is also an entertainer—for unless he can hold his audience, he cannot really instruct or edify them.

Elitism is the slur directed at merit by mediocrity.

Ancient boundaries are meaningless, except for political purposes; old divisions of clan and tribe are sentimental remnants of the pre-atomic age; neither creed nor color nor place of origin is relevant to the realities of modern power to utterly seek and destroy.

We believe what we want to believe, what we like to believe, what suits our prejudices and fuels our passions.

When I hear somebody sigh, 'Life is hard,' I am always tempted to ask, 'Compared to what?'

Nice things are done for our own sake, not for the sake of others. The pleasure must reside in the performance, not in the applause. Good deeds are, in a deeper psychological way, a favor to oneself. If this is not grasped, then our whole sense of personal relationships becomes warped.

The best thing you can give children, next to good habits, are good memories.