America has always been a country of amateurs where the professional, that is to say, the man who claims authority as a member of an élite which knows the law in some field or other, is an object of distrust and resentment.

Murder is unique in that it abolishes the party it injures, so that society has to take the place of the victim and on his behalf demand atonement or grant forgiveness; it is the one crime in which society has a direct interest.

Without Art, we should have no notion of the sacred; without Science, we should always worship false gods.

Poetry is the only art people haven't learned to consume like soup.

Pleasure is by no means an infallible critical guide, but it is the least fallible.

Whatever the field under discussion, those who engage in debate must not only believe in each other's good faith, but also in their capacity to arrive at the truth.

I think the first prerequisite to civilization is an ability to make polite conversation.