The greatest tyrannies are always perpetuated in the name of the noblest causes.

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.

Families are great murderers of the creative impulsive, particularly husbands.

Life can only be filled with joys as we make our egos small enough to accept the fact that joy comes to those in whom there is only room for it to spill over.

It is difficult to preach, this morality of mediocrity! It may never admit what it is and what it wants! It must speak about restraint and worth and duty and love of one's neighbor.

I would say just in general, in life, I'm more willing to be animated as a person, and so obviously onstage as well.

Even if your fantasy comes true, that doesn't mean you should stop dreaming.

To me, I've never understood why there is any question about are women as funny as men.

I'm a diamond in the rough, a shiny piece of coal trying to reach my goal.

In the long run, a short cut seldom is.

They know these mornings well and love them desperately because they cannot last - these people who know that nothing lasts.

These days in particular it seems not only unavoidable but even irresponsible to not acknowledge politics in some way.