Man will do many things to get himself loved; he will do all things to get himself envied. – Mark Twain, Following the Equator, 1897

I do not value any view of the universe into which man and the institutions of man enter very largely and absorb much of the attention. Man is but the place where I stand, and the prospect hence is infinite. – Henry David Thoreau, journal, 1852 April 2nd

Evolution: that last step was a doozy! – Terri Guillemets, 1988 September, biology journal

The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness. – Joseph Conrad, Under Western Eyes, 1911