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Liberty is the possibility of doubting, the possibility of making a mistake, the possibility of searching and experimenting, the possibility of saying No to any authority--literary, artistic, philosophic, religious, social and even political.

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It is impossible to design a system so perfect that no one needs to be good.

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My views and feelings (are) in favor of the abolition of war--and I hope it is practicable, by improving the mind and morals of society, to lessen the disposition to war; but of its abolition I despair.

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For it is mutual trust, even more than mutual interest that holds human associations together. Our friends seldom profit us but they make us feel safe... Marriage is a scheme to accomplish exactly that same end.

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A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.

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Now I see the secret of the making of the best persons.
It is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth.

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We can have no "50-50" allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American at all.

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Nature is trying very hard to make us succeed, but nature does not depend on us. We are not the only experiment.

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You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.

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Above all, we are coming to understand that the arts incarnate the creativity of a free people. When the creative impulse cannot flourish, when it cannot freely select its methods and objects, when it is deprived of spontaneity, then society severs the root of art.

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