History seldom destroys that which does not deserve to die; and the burning of the tares makes for the next sowing a richer soil.

It is one of the most culpable oversights of nature that virtue and beauty so often come in separate packages.

History is mostly guessing; the rest is prejudice.

Forget mistakes. Forget failure. Forget everything except what you're going to do now and do it. Today is your lucky day

by and large the poor have the same impulses as the rich, with only less opportunity or skill to implement them

To rulers religion, like almost everything else, is a tool of power.

Knowledge is the eye of desire and can become the pilot of the soul.