Peace on earth would mean the end of civilization as we know it.

Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them.

I'd like to see the government get out of war altogether and leave the whole field to private individuals.

There was only one catch and that was Catch-22. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to.

The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on.

I think in every country that there is at least one executive who is scared of going crazy.

We do have a zeal for laughter in most situations, give or take a dentist.

He had decided to live forever or die in the attempt.

Peace on earth would mean the end of civilization as we know it.

Hungry Joe collected lists of fatal diseases and arranged them in alphabetical order so that he could put his finger without delay on any one he wanted to worry about.

Lots of people who complained about us receiving the MBE received theirs for heroism in the war - for killing people. We received ours for entertaining other people. I'd say we deserve ours more.

He knew everything about literature except how to enjoy it.

Every writer I know has trouble writing.

When I grow up I want to be a little boy.

Frankly, I'd like to see the government get out of war altogether and leave the whole field to private industry.

I had examined myself pretty thoroughly and discovered that I was unfit for military service.

He was a self-made man who owed his lack of success to nobody.

Rise above principle and do what's right.

I don't believe in miracles because it's been a long time since we've had any.

Some people are born mediocre, some people achieve mediocrity, and some people have mediocrity thrust upon them.

Destiny is a good thing to accept when it's going your way. When it isn't, don't call it destiny; call it injustice, treachery, or simple bad luck.

But that was war. Just about all he could find in its favor was that it paid well and liberated children from the pernicious influence of their parents.

I want to keep my dreams, even bad ones, because without them, I might have nothing all night long.

When I read something saying I've not done anything as good as "Catch-22" I'm tempted to reply, "Who has?"

When I read something saying I've not done anything as good as 'Catch-22' I'm tempted to reply, 'Who has?'

Insanity is contagious.

The enemy is anybody whos going to get you killed no matter which side hes on.

I think that maybe in every company today there is always at least one person who is going crazy slowly.

There is no disappointment so numbing...as someone no better than you achieving more.

It will take a long time, and certainly the West will remain the dominant civilization well into the next century, but the decline is occurring.

Had the Hebrews not been disturbed in their progress a thousand and more years ago, they would have solved all the great problems of civilization which are being solved now under all the difficulties imposed by the spirit of the Middle Ages.

Today's interpretations of religion are often backward and contradict the needs of civilization.

The gross heathenism of civilization has generally destroyed nature, and poetry, and all that is spiritual.

The only hope is that our civilization will collapse at a certain point, as always happens in history. Then, out of barbarity, a renaissance.

The city is the nerve center of our civilization. It is also the storm center.

Mankind is not likely to salvage civilization unless he can evolve a system of good and evil which is independent of heaven and hell.

No civilization other than that which is Christian, is worth seeking or possessing.

Our society must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young or be deserted by them, for the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members.

No doubt Western civilization has in the past been full of wars and revolutions, and the national elements in our culture, even when they were ignored, always provided an unconscious driving force of passion and aggressive self-assertion.

The high point of civilization is that you can hate me and I can hate you but we develop an etiquette that allows us to deal with each other because if we acted solely upon our impulse we'd probably go to war.

You think that a wall as solid as the earth separates civilization from barbarism. I tell you the division is a thread, a sheet of glass. A touch here, a push there, and you bring back the reign of Saturn.

The exact measure of the progress of civilization is the degree in which the intelligence of the common mind has prevailed over wealth and brute force.

When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilization.

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.

A slight daily unconscious luxury is hardly ever wanting to the dwellers in civilization; like the gentle air of a genial climate, it is a perpetual minute enjoyment.

A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within.

It has been said that the position of woman is the test of civilization, and that of our women was secure. In them was vested our standard of morals and the purity of our blood.

If you are not prepared to use force to defend civilization, then be prepared to accept barbarism.

Right now, there's the illusion of order and civilization, but there's a tremendous amount of economic tension in this country and the educational system is constantly eroding.