So little trouble do men take in the search after truth; so readily do they accept whatever comes first to hand.

It is useless to attack men who could not be controlled even if conquered, while failure would leave us in an even worse position.

In general, the men of lower intelligence won out. Afraid of their own shortcomings and of the intelligence of their opponents, so that they would not lose out in reasoned argument or be taken by surprise by their quick-witted opponents, they boldly moved into action. Their enemies,on the contrary, contemptuous and confident in their ability to anticipate, thought there was no need to take by action what they could win by their brains.

It is a general rule of human nature that people despise those who treat them well, and look up to those who make no concessions.

The superior gratification derived from the use and contemplation of costly and supposedly beautiful products is, commonly, in great measure a gratification of our sense of costliness masquerading under the name of beauty.

It is a common mistake in going to war to begin at the wrong end, to act first, and wait for disasters to discuss the matter.

When one is deprived of ones liberty, one is right in blaming not so much the man who puts the shackles on as the one who had the power to prevent him, but did not use it.