Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking. – Alfred North Whitehead
He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would fully suffice. – Albert Einstein
Never assume the obvious is true. – William Safire, Sleeper Spy
We all live in the protection of certain cowardices which we call our principles. – Mark Twain
Loyalty to petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul. – Mark Twain
History does not teach fatalism. There are moments when the will of a handful of free men breaks through determinism and opens up new roads. People get the history they deserve. – Charles de Gaulle
They will say that you are on the wrong road, if it is your own. – Antonio Porchia, Voces, 1943, translated from Spanish by W.S. Merwin
History is particularly important in throwing light on the source of our attitudes about sex because many of the assumptions we make are not necessarily scientific or rational but holdovers of past belief systems that are no longer held by modern society. – Vern Bullough
Men will sooner surrender their rights than their customs. – Moritz Guedemann
I try not to break the rules, but merely to test their elasticity. – Bill Veeck
If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun. – Katherine Hepburn
To be a genuine individualist requires a great deal of strength and courage. It is never easy to chart new territory, to cross new frontiers, or to introduce subtle shadings to an established color. – Toller Cranston
If you do not agree with the prevalent point of view, be ready to explain why. – Martin H. Fischer (1879–1962)
Custom meets us at the cradle and leaves us only at the tomb. – Robert Ingersoll, Individuality
If you see in any given situation only what everybody else can see, you can be said to be so much a representative of your culture that you are a victim of it. – S.I. Hayakawa
You laugh at me because I am different; I laugh because you are all the same. – Daniel Knode
The public buys its opinions as it buys its meat, or takes in its milk, on the principle that it is cheaper to do this than to keep a cow. So it is, but the milk is more likely to be watered. – Samuel Butler, Notebooks, 1912
Consistency is contrary to nature, contrary to life. The only completely consistent people are the dead. – Aldous Huxley
Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago. – Bernard Berenson, Notebook, 1892
Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new. – Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854
