The improvement of understanding is for two ends: 

first, our own increase of knowledge; 

secondly, to enable us to deliver that knowledge to others.

To him who looks upon the world rationally, 

the world in its turn presents a rational aspect. 

The relation is mutual.

I would rather be poor in a cottage full of books 

than a king without the desire to read.

The Non-Conformist Conscience makes cowards of us all.

All causes are essentially mental, 

and whosoever comes into daily contact 

with a high order of thinking 

must take on some of it.

But far more numerous 

was the herd of such,

 Who think too little, 

and who talk too much.

Judgment is contained in the act of trying to understand.

The free soul is rare, 

but you know it when you see it — 

basically because you feel good, 

very good, 

when you are near or with them.

Life is life — 

whether in a cat, or dog or man. 

There is no difference there between a cat or a man. 

The idea of difference is a human conception 

for man's own advantage.

For a solitary animal 

egoism is a virtue that tends to preserve and improve the species: 

in any kind of community 

it becomes a destructive vice.

Logic and mathematics are nothing but specialised linguistic structures.

'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.

It is the lives we encounter that make life worth living.

The more we study 

the more we discover our ignorance.

A smile is the chosen vehicle of all ambiguities.