A sense of solidarity among fifteen-to-thirty-year-olds would be a menace to civilized society even in the best of times.

It Begins with skepticism. The history of human folly, and our own susceptibility to illusions and fallacies, tell us that men and women are fallible.

Since violence is largely a male pastime, cultures that empower women tend to move away from the glorification of violence and are less likely to breed dangerous subcultures of rootless young men.

The psychological components of war have not gone away—dominance, vengeance, callousness, tribalism, groupthink, self-deception

Knights do protect ladies, but only to keep them from being abducted by other knights.

So holding many factors constant, we find that living in a civilization reduces one’s chances of being a victim of violence fivefold.

The one great universal in the study of violence is that most of it is committed by fifteen-to-thirty-year-old men.

The essence of a culture of honor is that it does not sanction predatory or instrumental violence, but only retaliation after an insult or other mistreatment.

Religious people today, compartmentalize their attitude to the Bible. They pay it lip service as a symbol of morality while getting their actual morality from more modern principles.

Today we recognize that the emotion of disgust evolved as an unconscious defense against biological contamination.

Organisms are selected to deploy violence only in circumstances where the expected benefits outweigh the expected costs.

The Gray Man hated his current rental car. He got the distinct impression it hadn't been handled enough by humans when it was young, and now it would never be pleasant to be around.

Grumble weakens the spirit.Despair is counterproductive.Both are true toxicants in life.

Sebastian never does anything just for fun.” Jace took Clary’s hand and pulled her toward him. “But I do.

Eternal Inner Peace has to be cultivated daily.

There are plenty of towns in America where the 4-year-old has shot his 2-year-old sister by using daddy's gun.

I glanced out the window at the signs of spring. The sky was almost blue, the trees were almost budding, the sun was almost bright.

But possibly I am something more than I suppose myself to be.

It's important not to indicate. People don't try to show their feelings, they try to hide them.

You see, some non-Catholic friends of mine have questioned the depth of my faith because of the fact that I have a good education.

The more original something is, the more of a threat it seems until the people catch up with it. That happened with Thelonious Monk. It happened with anybody who is really original.