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.

There was that law of life, so cruel and so just, that one must grow or else pay more for read more

There was that law of life, so cruel and so just, that one must grow or else pay more for remaining the same. - The Deer Park.

Controversy is only dreaded by the advocates of error.

Controversy is only dreaded by the advocates of error.

Scientists often have a naive faith that if only they could discover enough facts about a problem, these facts would read more

Scientists often have a naive faith that if only they could discover enough facts about a problem, these facts would somehow arrange themselves in a compelling and true solution.

Whenever the government of the United States shall break up, it will probably be in consequence of a false direction read more

Whenever the government of the United States shall break up, it will probably be in consequence of a false direction having been given to publick opinion. This is the weak point of our defenses, and the part to which the enemies of the system will direct all their attacks. Opinion can be so perverted as to cause the false to seem the true; the enemy, a friend, and the friend, an enemy; the best interests of the nation to appear insignificant, and trifles of moment; in a word, the right the wrong, and the wrong the right.

It is appropriate here to recall that the so-called Dark Ages began with the flight of the individuals into the read more

It is appropriate here to recall that the so-called Dark Ages began with the flight of the individuals into the protection of lords or chapters and came to an end when the individual again found it to his advantage to set forth on his own. We live at a time when everything conspires to push the individual into the fold.

I believe the best social program is a job.

I believe the best social program is a job.

The methods of the natural sciences cannot be applied to human behavior because this behavior...lacks the peculiarity that characterizes events read more

The methods of the natural sciences cannot be applied to human behavior because this behavior...lacks the peculiarity that characterizes events in the field of the natural sciences, viz., regularity.

The thoughts of Plato and Machiavelli... don't seem quite enough armor for a world beset with splitting the atoms, urban read more

The thoughts of Plato and Machiavelli... don't seem quite enough armor for a world beset with splitting the atoms, urban guerrillas, nineteen varieties of psychotherapists, amplified guitars, napalm, computers, astronauts, and an atmosphere polluted simultaneously with auto exhaust and TV commercials.