“From such crooked wood as that which man is made of, nothing straight can be fashioned.”

The enjoyment of power inevitably corrupts the judgement of reason, and perverts its liberty.

Morality is not properly the doctrine of how we may make ourselves happy, but how we may make ourselves worthy of happiness.

Woman wants control, man self-control.

Two things fill the mind with ever-increasing wonder and awe, the more often and the more intensely the mind of thought is drawn to them: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.

The great mass of people are worthy of our respect.

Laughter is an affect resulting from the sudden transformation of a heightened expectation into nothing.

The greatest human quest is to know what one must do in order to become a human being.

Prudence reproaches; conscience accuses.

Dare to know! Have the courage to use your own intelligence!

Space and time are the framework within which the mind is constrained to construct its experience of reality.

Settle, for sure and universally, what conduct will promote the happiness of a rational being.

All our knowledge begins with the senses, proceeds then to the understanding, and ends with reason. There is nothing higher than reason.

Since the human race’s natural end is to make steady cultural progress, its moral end is to be conceived as progressing toward the better. And this progress may well be occasionally interrupted, but it will never be broken off.

The death of dogma is the birth of morality.

The outcome of an act commonly influences our judgment about its rightness, even though the former was uncertain, while the latter is certain.

Art is purposiveness without purpose.

The ‘kind’ in mankind. Show me that.

Remember your humanity, and forget the rest.

To be human is a privilege to be part of humanity is a choice.

I am utterly convinced that Science and Peace will triumph over Ignorance and War, that nation will eventually unite not to destroy but to edify, and that the future will belong to those who have done the most for the sake of suffering humanity.

Be nice to whites, they need you to rediscover their humanity.

You show your humanity by how you see yourself not as apart from others but from your connection to others.

When we see others as the enemy, we risk becoming what we hate. When we oppress others, we end up oppressing ourselves. All of our humanity is dependent upon recognizing the humanity in others.

Humanity is a civilisation in the middle of the ocean, and we are right now setting fire to our boat”