Once we assuage our conscience by calling something a "necessary evil", it begins to look more and more necessary and less and less evil.

People who think they're generous to a fault usually think that's their only fault.

It's odd, and a little unsettling, to reflect upon the fact that English is the only major language in which "I" is capitalized; in many other languages "You" is capitalized and the "i" is lower case." --

All our efforts to attain immortality-by statesmanship, by conquest, by science or the arts-are equally vain in the long run, because the long run is longer than any of us can imagine.

Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.

The difference between patriotism and nationalism is that the patriot is proud of his country for what it does, and the nationalist is proud of his country no matter what it does; the first attitude creates a feeling of responsibility, but the second a feeling of blind arrogance that leads to war.

Being yourself is not remaining what you were, or being satisfied with what you are. It is the point of departure and far from the goal.