The Ten Commandments, for example, were no more challenging than the Girl Scout oath, and why should anyone be tempted to put one false god ahead of another?

A hint of - dare I say? - animism has entered into the scientific worldview. The physical world is no longer either dead or passively obedient to the "laws.

That's what "meaning" is—a special additive like salt or garlic that could make even the most fetid piece of meat seem palpable, even delicious.

Why "revere" the unknowable? Why not find out what it is?

If this was mental illness, or even just a particularly clinical case of adolescence, I was bearing up pretty well.

Too bad for any parent who has become accustomed to ruling by force, because at some point the kids just get too big to slap around.

The universe does not reveal itself to undergraduates or fools: This is the entire premise of higher education.

In fact, the idea of a God who is both all-powerful and all good is a logical impossibility.

I understood that no one could have lobbed such a stinging wad of shame out into the world without having a considerable personal reserve of it to draw on.

Learning is pleasurable but doing is the height of enjoyment.

Football is an art, like dancing is an art - but only when it's well done does it become an art.

The terror of the Roman arms added weight and dignity to the moderation of the emperors. They preserved the peace by a constant preparation for war.

Propaganda is a topic of particular concern to peace associations. This is a matter of educating the population in general, and not least the voters.

You're your worst critic, and I don't like the way I sound on the mic.

Socialism and capitalism are both essentially materialist, just different ways of approaching the lifeless world of matter and deciding how to share the spoils.

... a meddler who cannot leave his subordinates alone is a hands on executive.

All children can do things to help, whether how big or small - by donating toys or lending a hand in the community.

Awards for arts, where you make comparisons, don't make much sense.

False notes [on the piano] are human. Why does everything have to be perfect? You know, perfection itself is imperfection.