“Chloroform unfit children. Show them the same mercy that is shown beasts that are no longer fit to live.”

I am always suspicious of righteous indignation. Nothing is more cruel than righteous indignation.

Working people have alot of bad habits, but the worst of these is work.

I do not consider it an insult, but rather a compliment to be called an agnostic. I do not pretend to know where many ignorant men are sure – that is all that agnosticism means.

Probably the undertaker thinks less of death than almost any other man. He is so accustomed to it that his mind must involuntarily turn from its horror to a contemplation of how much he makes out of the burial.

A criminal is someone without the capital to incorporate

The law does not pretend to punish everything that is dishonest. That would seriously interfere with business.

To say that the universe was here last year, or millions of years ago, does not explain its origin. This is still a mystery. As to the question of the origin of things, man can only wonder and doubt and guess.

I am simply an agnostic. I haven’t yet had time or opportunity to explore the universe, and I don’t know what I might run on to in some nook or corner.

You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man’s freedom.

The world is made up for the most part of morons and natural tyrants, sure of themselves, strong in their own opinions, never doubting anything.

The truth is always modern and there never comes a time when it is safe to give it voice.

Ancestors do not mean so much. The rebel who succeeds generally makes it easier for the posterity that follows him; so these descendants are usually contented and smug and soft. Rebels are made from life, not ancestors.

An agnostic is a doubter. The word is generally applied to those who doubt the verity of accepted religious creeds of faiths.

In order to have enough freedom, it is necessary to have too much.

Laws should be like clothes. They should be made to fit the people they are meant to serve.

The fear of God is not the beginning of wisdom. The fear of God is the death of wisdom. Skepticism and doubt lead to study and investigation, and investigation is the beginning of wisdom.

I actually get a lot of messages with people saying, ‘What’s a Marvin Gaye?’ and, I mean… Oh, wow. I must be getting old, because someone who was born in 2004 just asked me what a Marvin Gaye was.

Kids are a huge sacrifice; they change everything – but I’m ready to work for things of greater importance than going out to meet someone for dinner at 10 o’clock at night.

My mum was too busy raising four of us to encourage my hopes. But I’m glad I had the upbringing I did. It made me a worrier and a thoughtful, curious person.

This is one thing they forget to mention in most child-rearing books, that at times you will just lose your mind. Period.

We learn our belief systems as very little children, and then we move through life creating experiences to match our beliefs. Look back in your own life and notice how often you have gone through the same experience.

Nothing heals us like letting people know our scariest parts: When people listen to you cry and lament, and look at you with love, it’s like they are holding the baby of you.

To terrify children with the image of hell, to consider women an inferior creation – is that good for the world?

My parents elected me president of the family when I was 4. We actually had an election every year and I always won. I’m an only child, and I could count on my mother’s vote.