I believe that men are generally still a little afraid of the dark, though the witches are all hung, and Christianity and candles have been introduced. – Henry David Thoreau, “Solitude,” Walden, 1854

Genuine tragedies in the world are not conflicts between right and wrong. They are conflicts between two rights. – Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831)

Each forward step we take we leave some phantom of ourselves behind. – John Lancaster Spalding

Men are probably nearer the central truth in their superstitions than in their science. – Henry David Thoreau