“It is emotion that drives the intelligence forward in spite of obstacles.”

The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause.

Homo sapiens, the only creature endowed with reason, is also the only creature to pin its existence on things unreasonable.

Life does not proceed by the association and addition of elements, but by dissociation and division.

To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.

I believe I experience creativity at every moment of my life.

Genius is that which forces the inertia of humanity to learn.

It is the very essence of intelligence to coordinate means with a view to a remote end, and to undertake what it does not feel absolutely sure of carrying out.

Realism is in the work when idealism is in the soul, and it is only through idealism that we resume contact with reality.

I would say act like a man of thought and think like a man of action.

To drive out the darkness, bring in the light.

An absolute can only be given in an intuition, while all the rest has to do with analysis.

The motive power of democracy is love.

The movement of the stream is distinct from the river bed, although it must adopt its winding course.

Intuition is a method of feeling one’s way intellectually into the inner heart of a thing to locate what is unique and inexpressible in it.

Sex-appeal is the keynote of our whole civilization.

In short, intelligence, considered in what seems to be its original feature, is the faculty of manufacturing artificial objects, especially tools to make tools, and of indefinitely urging the manufacture.

The builder of the best racing car is not necessarily its best driver.

I can assure you that my first and foremost interest is my country. This is not a personal matter. We are not people driven by a wish to be in the government since it is for us the least attractive work, even though we are politicians.

It’s the same thing that drives people to want to experience sexual pleasure or have one too many drinks.

This, is course, is not true. The wanton crucifixion of impulses, the unnecessary blocking and frustration of the drives and urges, are an evil that reflects itself in sophistication, ennui and boredom, dissatisfaction, melancholy, fatigue, anxiety and neurosis.

Oh, Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz – My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.

Each day is a drive through history.

Reasoning is the pastime of my whole household, and all this reasoning has driven out Reason.

Art can be very political but that can’t be the purpose of art, it can’t be the driving force. It isn’t with any of the books that I love, anyway.