“We do not need more intellectual power, we need more spiritual power. We do not need more of the things that are seen, we need more of the things that are unseen.”

The collection of taxes which are not absolutely required, which do not beyond reasonable doubt contribute to public welfare, is only a species of legalized larceny. Under this Republic the rewards of industry belong to those who earn them.

There is no dignity quite so impressive, and no one independence quite so important, as living within your means.

Money will not purchase character or good government.

We demand entire freedom of action and then expect the government in some miraculous way to save us from the consequences of our own acts. Self-government means self-reliance.

Man everywhere has an unconquerable desire to be the master of his own destiny.

It is difficult for men in high office to avoid the malady of self-delusion. They are always surrounded by worshipers. They are constantly, and for the most part sincerely, assured of their greatness.

Prosperity is only an instrument to be used, not a deity to be worshipped.

I want taxes to be less, that the people may have more.

If the people fail to vote, a government will be developed which is not their government. The whole system of American Government rests on the ballot box. Unless citizens perform their duties there, such a system of government is doomed to failure.

They criticize me for harping on the obvious; if all the folks in the United States would do the few simple things they know they ought to do, most of our big problems would take care of themselves.

The property of the people belongs to the people. To take it from them by taxation cannot be justified except by urgent public necessity. Unless this principle be recognized our country is no longer secure, our people no longer free.

Industry, thrift and self-control are not sought because they create wealth, but because they create character.

Silence can never be misquoted.

We want wealth, but there are many other things we want very much more. Among them are peace, honor, charity, and idealism.

We are too solicitous for government intervention, on the theory, first, that the people themselves are helpless, and second, that the Government has superior capacity for action. Often times both of these conclusions are wrong.

A government which lays taxes on the people not required by urgent public necessity and sound public policy is not a protector of liberty, but an instrument of tyranny. It condemns the citizen to servitude.

The highest purpose of intellectual cultivation is to give a man a perfect knowledge and mastery of his own inner self.

It hinders the creative work of the mind if the intellect examines too closely the ideas as they pour in.

In the case of a creative mind, it seems to me, the intellect has withdrawn its watchers from the gates, and the ideas rush in pell-mell and only then does it review and inspect the multitudes.

I think there’s a natural system in your own head about how much violence the scene warrants. It’s not an intellectual process, it’s an instinctive process.

Some other faculty than the intellect is necessary for the apprehension of reality.

To label me an intellectual is a misunderstanding of what that is.

I would not ever try to be a show intellectual, which I was accused of doing a while on ABC. I thought you were supposed to read the guests’ books.

A film engages you emotionally and intellectually.