The church must be the critic and guide of the state, and never its tool.

The church must be the critic and guide of the state, and never its tool.

I am an agnostic; I do not pretend to know what many ignorant men are sure of.

I am an agnostic; I do not pretend to know what many ignorant men are sure of.

You can change your faith without changing gods, and vice versa.

You can change your faith without changing gods, and vice versa.

No human beings more dangerous than those who have suffered for a belief: the great persecutors are recruited from the read more

No human beings more dangerous than those who have suffered for a belief: the great persecutors are recruited from the martyrs not quite beheaded. Far from diminishing the appetite for power, suffering exasperates it.

Prayer is a confession of one's own unworthiness and weakness.

Prayer is a confession of one's own unworthiness and weakness.

The intellectual is constantly betrayed by his vanity. Godlike he blandly assumes that he can express everything in words; whereas read more

The intellectual is constantly betrayed by his vanity. Godlike he blandly assumes that he can express everything in words; whereas the things one loves, lives, and dies for are not, in the last analysis completely expressible in words.

Only he who handles his ideas lightly is master of his ideas, and only he who is master of his read more

Only he who handles his ideas lightly is master of his ideas, and only he who is master of his ideas is not enslaved by them.

It doesn't matter how many say it cannot be done or how many people have tried it before; it's important read more

It doesn't matter how many say it cannot be done or how many people have tried it before; it's important to realize that whatever you're doing, it's your first attempt at it.

The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.

The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.