To our real, naked selves there is not a thing on earth or in heaven worth dying for. It is read more

To our real, naked selves there is not a thing on earth or in heaven worth dying for. It is only when we see ourselves as actors in a staged (and therefore unreal) performance that death loses its frightfulness and finality and becomes an act of make-believe and a theatrical gesture. It is one of the main tasks of a real leader to mask the grim reality of dying and killing by evoking in his followers the illusion that they are participating in a grandiose spectacle, a solemn or lighthearted dramatic performance.

Glory is largely a theatrical concept. There is no striving for glory without a vivid awareness of an audience.

Glory is largely a theatrical concept. There is no striving for glory without a vivid awareness of an audience.

Everybody wants to be somebody; nobody wants to grow.

Everybody wants to be somebody; nobody wants to grow.

The criterion of truth is that it works even if nobody is prepared to acknowledge it.

The criterion of truth is that it works even if nobody is prepared to acknowledge it.

Don't ever take a fence down until you know the reason it was put up.

Don't ever take a fence down until you know the reason it was put up.

The common idea that success spoils people by making them vain, egotistic, and self-complacent is erroneous; on the contrary it read more

The common idea that success spoils people by making them vain, egotistic, and self-complacent is erroneous; on the contrary it makes them, for the most part, humble, tolerant, and kind. Failure makes people bitter and cruel.

Those families, you know, are our upper crust, not upper ten
thousand.

Those families, you know, are our upper crust, not upper ten
thousand.

For piety lies not in being often seen turning a veiled head to stones, nor in approaching every altar, nor read more

For piety lies not in being often seen turning a veiled head to stones, nor in approaching every altar, nor in lying prostrate...before the temples of the gods, nor in sprinkling altars with the blood of beasts...but rather in being able to look upon all things with a mind at peace.

Deeds of violence in our society are performed largely by those trying to establish their self-esteem, to defend their self-image, read more

Deeds of violence in our society are performed largely by those trying to establish their self-esteem, to defend their self-image, and to demonstrate that they, too, are significant.