We shall never understand the ethical system taught by Jesus unless we realize that he was a Jew, not only by birth, but that he lived and taught as a Jew; the Sermon on the Mount was addressed to his distracted fellow nationals.

It is just because civilization is ever evolving, changing, and becoming more complicated, that experts find it so difficult to define it in explicit terms.

I prize the conditions under which I have lived because they have permitted me to choose my opportunities, to inquire into such matters as interested me, and to publish what I believed to be true, uncontrolled by any central authority.

Man is by nature competitive, combative, ambitious, jealous, envious, and vengeful.

There are very few men and women in whom a Universalist feeling is altogether lacking; its prevalence suggests that it must be part of our inborn nature and have a place in Nature's scheme of evolution.

In every man there is an instinctive and passionate reaction if his person or liberty is attacked.

The proper balance between individual liberty and central authority is a very ancient problem.

A drunkard is one thing, and a temperate man is quite another.

My personal conviction is that science is concerned wholly with truth, not with ethics.

The discovery of agriculture was the first big step toward a civilized life.

Civilization never stands still; if in one country it is falling back, in another it is changing, evolving, becoming more complicated, bringing fresh experience to body and mind, breeding new desires, and exploiting Nature's cupboard for their satisfaction.

Nowhere is Universalism welcomed and encouraged by a people; everywhere governments have forced and are forcing Universalism upon unwilling and resistant subjects.

In a tribal organization, even in time of peace, service to tribe or state predominates over all self seeking; in war, service for the tribe or state becomes supreme, and personal liberty is suspended.

We shall never understand the ethical system taught by Jesus unless we realize that he was a Jew, not only by birth, but that he lived and taught as a Jew; the Sermon on the Mount was addressed to his distracted fellow nationals.

Christianity has not conquered nationalism; the opposite has been the case nationalism has made Christianity its footstool.

Tolerance is held to be a condition of mind which is encouraged by, and is necessary for, civilization.

No tribe unites with another of its own free will.

Before the discovery of agriculture mankind was everywhere so divided, the size of each group being determined by the natural fertility of its locality.

Good men, whether they be Christians or rationalists, do not desire to discriminate between races, but the distinctions implanted by Nature are too conspicuous to escape the observation of our senses.

Whichever theory we adopt to give a rational explanation of human existence, that theory must take into account and explain the mental nature we see at work in all modern communities.

Civilization, we shall find, like Universalism and Christianity, is anti evolutionary in its effects; it works against the laws and conditions which regulated the earlier stages of man's ascent.

The main force used in the evolving world of humanity has hitherto been applied in the form of war.

Under no stretch of imagination can war be regarded as an ethical process; yet war, force, terror, and propaganda were the evolutionary means employed to weld the German people into a tribal whole.

Tribal life comes automatically to an end when a primitive people begins to live in a town or a city, for sooner or later a tribal organization is found to be incompatible with life in a city.

Universalism as an ideal is as old as nay, is probably much more ancient than the Christian ideal.

There are the further difficulties of building a population out of a diversity of races, each at a different stage of cultural evolution, some in need of restraint, many in need of protection; everywhere a bewildering Babel of tongues.

I am a rank individualist.

Reason has not tamed desire: it is as strong as ever.

Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle

We developed a firm practical feeling of solidarity which grew on the battlefield into the best thing that the war produced comradeship in arms.

I definitely have to admit that I am fairly ignorant, not just to 'Tron,' but almost any pop culture thing that I should know, at my age. I grew up without a television and rarely got to see a movie, so I didn't really see any of that stuff, and I haven't been able to catch up since.

Find yourself a cup; the teapot is behind you. Now tell me hundreds of things.

Loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the government when it deserves it.

All my books are made up of other books. They're all deeply structured on other fiction, because I was a student in fiction and I didn't have much actual living to draw on. I suspect a lot of other people's novels are like that, too, though they might be slower to talk about it.

I really enjoy encountering a celebrity who's like, 'Let's go; you'd better have your A-game on.' You sit down with Madonna, and she's like, 'You'd better have something for me. If you're not ready to dance, I'll eat you up.'

Injuries heal, but wrinkles are the scars of time.

There's a certain pattern that exists with geniuses - an eccentricity, a lack of social graces and an inability to really communicate with mere mortals.

I grew to manhood in the Ohio State Penitentiary.

No matter where you go and what you do in America, you turn the tele on and you're confronted with violence.

Most problems in poor countries are locally generated even though international factors do play a role.

Black and Jewish leaders have been a coalition of conscience.

Endure the present, and watch for better things.

The views of the European Union are fully reflected in this text, particularly the key objective of the EU, namely vigorously to address the disarmament of Iraq and to do so within the framework of the UN Security Council.

Winners live in the present tense. People who come up short are consumed with future or past. I want to be living in the now.

I don't have one role that I want to play. I guess... I want to be a producer. I want to be an activist. I want to be proactive in bringing about work for men, women, boys, girls, everybody who is good at what they do and deserve a shot at it.

With diligence it is possible to make anything run slowly.

Love is not just tolerance. It's not just distant appreciation. It's a warm sense of, 'I am enjoying the fact that you are you.'

I wrote a lot in study hall to while away the hours.

I definitely would never go back to my 20s. The best is yet to come.