Measures must always in a progressive society be held superior to men, who are after all imperfect instruments, working for their fulfilment.

The court generally moves in small steps rather than in one giant step.

If that’s there, I believe that technology will probably step up to their part of it.

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.

The credit of advancing science has always been due to individuals and never to the age.

There will be no end to the troubles of states, or of humanity itself, till philosophers become kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers, and political power and philosophy thus come into the same hands.

As individuals, people are inherently good. I have a somewhat more pessimistic view of people in groups. And I remain extremely concerned when I see what’s happening in our country, which is in many ways the luckiest place in the world. We don’t seem to be excited about making our country a better place for our kids.

The joy and love that I get from playing football are unbelievable. It is such a feeling that I want to give everything that I have got. I just enjoy it, I am living a life that I never even dreamt of.

We all have a tendency to avoid our weaknesses. When we do that, we never progress or get any better.

Surely the wake left behind by mankind’s forward march reveals its movement just as clearly as the spray thrown up elsewhere by the prow.

A lot of people are bored of all the political correctness.

In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime.

We always live in an uncertain world. What is certain is that the United States will go forward over time.

Practice yourself, for heaven’s sake in little things, and then proceed to greater.

We have to do more than just elect a new President if we truly want to change this country.

Conservatism discards Prescription, shrinks from Principle, disavows Progress; having rejected all respect for antiquity, it offers no redress for the present, and makes no preparation for the future.

Justice in the life and conduct of the State is possible only as first it resides in the hearts and souls of the citizens.

Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource.

The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas, i.e., the class which is the ruling material force of society, is at the same time its ruling intellectual force.

I have this feeling that the world is not in balance. And people are afraid, but we’re also starting to be really brave.

I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we’ve struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We’ve made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.

All conservatism is based upon the idea that if you leave things alone you leave them as they are. But you do not. If you leave a thing alone you leave it to a torrent of change.

I would put our legislative and foreign policy accomplishments in our first two years against any president – with the possible exceptions of Johnson, FDR, and Lincoln – just in terms of what we’ve gotten done in modern history. But, you know, but when it comes to the economy, we’ve got a lot more work to do. And we’re gonna keep on at it.

We are not to give credit to the many, who say that none ought to be educated but the free; but rather to the philosophers, who say that the well-educated alone are free.

Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.

Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards.

Good humor is one of the best articles of dress one can wear in society.

Children say that people are hung sometimes for speaking the truth.

America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.

Nothing on this earth is standing still. It’s either growing or it’s dying. No matter if it’s a tree or a human being.

America makes prodigious mistakes, America has colossal faults, but one thing cannot be denied: America is always on the move. She may be going to Hell, of course, but at least she isn’t standing still.

In my later years, I have looked in the mirror each day and found a happy person staring back. Occasionally I wonder why I can be so happy. The answer is that every day of my life I’ve worked only for myself and for the joy that comes from writing and creating. The image in my mirror is not optimistic, but the result of optimal behavior.

Happiness does not lie in happiness, but in the achievement of it.

Revolutions go not backward.

Democratic societies are unfit for the publication of such thunderous revelations as I am in the habit of making.

Censorship ends in logical completeness when nobody is allowed to read any books except the books that nobody reads.

Being shoved into the top-40 scene was an unusual experience. It was great I’d become accessible to a huge audience but not terribly fulfilling.

Progress is not an illusion, it happens, but it is slow and invariably disappointing.

Mankind, when left to themselves, are unfit for their own government.

Our brand of democracy is hard. But I can promise that a year from now, when I no longer hold this office, I’ll be right there with you as a citizen – inspired by those voices of fairness and vision, of grit and good humor and kindness that have helped America travel so far.

The more laws and order are made prominent, the more thieves and robbers there will be.

Work is the meat of life, pleasure the dessert.

The present condition of fame is merely fashion.

I believe you have to be willing to be misunderstood if you’re going to innovate.

You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.

I sincerely hope I can contribute to the progress there has been in relations between Jews and Catholics since the Second Vatican Council in a spirit of renewed collaboration.

The true danger is when liberty is nibbled away, for expedience, and by parts.

It’s actually very easy for democracy to disappear.

You notice how liberals keep saying, ‚If only Islam would have a Reformation‘ – it can’t have one. It says it can’t. It’s extremely dangerous in that way.

Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.

In a universe that’s an intelligent system with a divine creative force supporting it, there simply can be no accidents. As tough as it is to acknowledge, you had to go through what you went through in order to get to where you are today, and the evidence is that you did.

In many ways, when you’re a Nobel peace laureate, you have an obligation to humankind, to society.

Without education we are in a horrible and deadly danger of taking educated people seriously.

I’m a human being. I’ve got opinions, I’m not always right, I’m not always on time, I don’t always say things in the proper way, but my intentions are always extremely pure.

No driver is perfect.

The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants.

It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.

If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress.

People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them.

An asylum for the sane would be empty in America.

Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.