Power dements even more than it corrupts, lowering the guard of foresight and raising the haste of action.

There is no real philosophy until the mind turns around and examines itself.

A cat has a reputation to protect. If it had a halo, it would be worn cocked to one side.

The trouble with most people is that they think with their hopes or fears or wishes rather than with their minds.

Peace is an unstable equilibrium, which can be preserved only by acknowledged supremacy or equal power.

[H]istory assures us that civilizations decay quite leisurely.

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