Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it.

To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.

The World is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.

A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.

He who dares not offend cannot be honest.

[A]ll churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Muslim, are simply human inventions. They use fear to enslave us. They are a monopoly for power and profit.

If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.

The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.

Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.

Religion is a history of wickedness that has served to corrupt and brutalize humankind; and, for my part, I sincerely detest it as I detest everything that is cruel.

Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.

Each soul should seek its own spirituality.

When your prayers aren’t answered immediately, sometimes God has a different—or better—plan.

I did things like get in a cupboard before the teacher came in at the beginning of a lesson, and then, two minutes before the end of the class, I come out of the cupboard and go, 'Sorry I'm late.'

I think most defense attorneys honestly believe the principle that says, 'Better 10 guilty go free than even one possibly innocent person be convicted.

If you remain unsettled by a piece of writing, it means you are not watching the story from the outside; you've already taken a step toward it.

The common denominator for success is work.

Life's what happens when you're making other plans.

An interviewer asked me what book I thought best represented the modern American woman. All I could think of to answer was: Madame Bovary.

Some sarcasm is best told simply.

It was our love of foreign cloth that ousted the wheel from its position of dignity.