The man who regards his own life and that of his fellow creatures as meaningless is not merely unhappy but hardly fit for life. - Albert Einstein

A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest–a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. - Albert Einstein

If I have not read a book before, it is, for all intents and purposes, new to me whether it was printed yesterday or three hundred years ago. - William Hazlitt

The distinction between children and adults, while probably useful for some purposes, is at bottom a specious one, I feel. There are only individual egos, crazy for love. - Don Barthelme

The Price Of Freedom Is Eternal Vigilance. - Thomas Jefferson

Here is the answer which I will give to President Roosevelt… We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire. Neither the sudden shock of battle nor the long-drawn trials of vigilance and exertion will wear us down. Give us the tools and we will finish the job. - Sir Winston Churchill, Radio speech, 1941

Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh. - W. H. Auden

People are the common denominator of progress. So… no improvement is possible with unimproved people, and advance is certain when people are liberated and educated. It would be wrong to dismiss the importance of roads, railroads, power plants, mills, and the other familiar furniture of economic development…. But we are coming to realize… that there is a certain sterility in economic monuments that stand alone in a sea of illiteracy. Conquest of illiteracy comes first. - John Kenneth Galbraith, The Affluent Society (1958)

A man is like a fraction whose numerator is what he is and whose denominator is what he thinks of himself. The larger the denominator the smaller the fraction. - Leo Tolstoy

If you fear making anyone mad, then you ultimately probe for the lowest common denominator of human achievement. - James Earl Jimmy Carter, Jr.

Each suburban wife struggled with it alone. As she made the beds, shopped for groceries, matched slipcover material, ate peanut butter sandwiches with her children, chauffered Cub Scouts and Brownies, lay beside her husband at night-she was afraid to ask even of herself the silent question-Is this all - Betty Naomi Friedan

The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in time of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality. - -Dante Alighieri

When once a man has made celebrity necessary to his happiness, he has put it in the power of the weakest and most timorous malignity, if not to take away his satisfaction, at least to withhold it. His enemies may indulge their pride by airy negligence and gratify their malice by quiet neutrality. - Samuel Johnson

The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis. - Dante Alighieri

The fact was I had the vision… I think everyone has… what we lack is the method. - Jack Kerouac

I have many regrets, and I’m sure everyone does. The stupid things you do, you regret…if you have any sense….And if you don’t regret them, maybe you’re stupid. - Katharine Hepburn

In life you can never be too kind or too fair everyone you meet is carrying a heavy load. When you go through your day expressing kindness and courtesy to all you meet, you leave behind a feeling of warmth and good cheer, and you help alleviate the burdens everyone is struggling with. - Brian Tracy

Everyone is in business for himself, for he is selling his services, labor or ideas. Until one realizes that this is true he will not take conscious charge of his life and will always be looking outside himself for guidance. - Sidney Madwed

Some people surrender their freedom willingly but others are forced to surrender it. Imprisonment begins with birth. Society, parents they refuse to allow you to keep the freedom you were born with. There are subtle ways to punish a person for daring to feel. You see that everyone around you has destroyed his true feeling nature. You imitate what you see. - Jim Morrison

The power of illustrative anecdotes often lies not in how well they present reality, but in how well they reflect the core beliefs of their audience. - David P. Mikkelson, Snopes.com, 04-10-04

Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. - Albert Einstein, (attributed)

Man is fond of counting his troubles, but he does not count his joys. If he counted them up as he ought to, he would see that every lot has enough happiness provided for it. - Fyodor Dostoevsky

The average Ph.D. thesis is nothing but a transference of bones from one graveyard to another. - J. Frank Dobie, “A Texan in England”, 1945

Through pride we are ever deceiving ourselves. But deep down below the surface of the average conscience a still, small voice says to us, ‘Something is out of tune.’ - Carl Gustav Jung

Our schools have been scientifically designed to prevent over-education from happening. … The average American (should be) content with their humble role in life, because they’re not tempted to think about any other role. - William Torrey Harris