Cruelty practiced as a matter of social principle or public policy, and presented to the community as a means to a higher goal is the most obscene and decadent phenomenon of any civilization.

A truly strong person does not need the approval of others any more than a lion needs the approval of sheep.

Always walk through life as if you have something new to learn, and you will.

Our freedom can be measured by the number of things we can walk away from.

A cheery relaxation is man's natural state, just as nature itself is relaxed. A waterfall is concerned only with being itself, not with doing something it considers waterfall-like.

You have succeeded in life when all you really WANT is only what you really NEED.

No one on earth can hurt you, unless you accept the hurt in your own mind. . . The problem is not other people; it is your reaction.

You cannot stop destructive actions by others, but you can stop your own destructive reactions to them

Run forward when possible, walk ahead when you can, stagger onward when you must, but never cease your forward movement.

We can accept God becoming Man to save Man, but not Man becoming God to save himself.

Be teachable. That is the whole secret.

They're animals, all right. But why are you so goddam sure that makes us human beings?

Love has no meaning without understanding

As long as there exist summer, we shall love the winter! The day summer disappears from Earth, we shall hate the winter!

I grew up in the Bronx. I'm into rap music.

I don't read reviews, as a rule. I can't, because I can't control myself. But I've heard that [the Duplasses] were happy, so that's good.

Sometimes, when a person gains a lot of success at a very young age, they become targets, and it's really easy to follow the crowds and not make independent decisions based on truly how you feel.

It is impossible to imagine Goethe or Beethoven being good at billiards or golf.

Have you talked to North?" he said. "Yes," she said. "I asked him to get us cable." "I wish you weren't talking to him." "I'd talk to Satan to get cable," Andie said.

Perfection can never be attained by work.

One wants permissive individuals who do not have a compelling need to reassure themselves that they are leaders.