All that is necessary, as it seems to me, to convince any reasonable person that the Bible is simply and purely of human invention; of barbarian invention; is to read it. Read it as you would any other book; think of it as you would of any other; get the bandage of reverence from your eyes; drive from your heart the phantom of fear; push from the throne of your brain the cowled form of superstition; then read the Holy Bible, and you will be amazed that you ever, for one moment, supposed a being of infinite wisdom, goodness and purity, to be the author of such ignorance and of such atrocity. ~Robert Green Ingersoll
#quotes #robert-green-ingersoll #books #religion

Fear of serious injury alone cannot justify oppression of free speech and assembly. Men feared witches and burnt women. It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears. ~Louis D. Brandeis
#quotes #louis-d-brandeis #free-speech

The most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin. ~Pope Pius IX
#quotes #pope-pius-ix #christianity

I was sitting in the back room by myself when someone came in and said, "Mr. Zimmer, I have to take you down to the make up room." I told them that if anyone can help this face they deserve a bonus. ~Don Zimmer
#quotes #don-zimmer #make-up

What is nature? Art thou not the living government of God? O Heaven, is it in very deed. He then that ever speaks through thee, that lives and loves in thee, that lives and loves in me? ~Thomas Carlyle
#quotes #thomas-carlyle #nature #art #life #government

Loyalty, Signor Molteni, not love. Penelope is loyal to Ulysses but we do not know how far she loved him; and as you know people can sometimes be absolutely loyal without loving. In certain cases, in fact, loyalty is form of vengeance, of black-mail, of recovering one's self-respect. Loyalty, not love. ~Alberto Moravia
#quotes #alberto-moravia #loyalty #love #self

To inquire into the origin of life is like seeking the origin of electrical machinery or the origin of music. Every increase in complexity of arrangement, of form, of substance, leads to new and often incalculable properties. ~Gilbert Newton Lewis
#quotes #gilbert-newton-lewis #life #origin

The apparent world, the one which is perceived, with its figures, its brightness, its colors, is a psychical product, a creation of the observer. The figures seen on the vault of heaven are neither the celestial bodies, nor the true clouds or the falling stars, but are only effigies which the observer's psyche has created and localized how and where it can. ~Vasco Ronchi
#quotes #vasco-ronchi #world

I've never had a bank account in Switzerland since 1984. Why would the Swiss do this to me? Maybe the Swiss are trying to divert attention from the Holocaust gold scandal. ~Benazir Bhutto
#quotes #benazir-bhutto

The recognition of the art that informs all pure science need not mean the abandonment for it of all present art, rather it will mean the completion of the transformation of art that has already begun. ~John Desmond Bernal
#quotes #john-desmond-bernal #art #science

You must neither strive for truth nor seek to lose your illusions. ~Zen Proverb
#proverbs #zen-proverbs #buddhism #truth #illusion

If we have any hope of finding ways for seven billion people to live well on planet with finite resources, we have to learn to use our resources efficiently. Plastic bags are neither efficient nor environmentally friendly. ~David Suzuki
#quotes #david-suzuki #environment

People see you sing in a certain way, in a long dress, and you are put on a pedestal like you have never made a mistake in your life. ~Katherine Jenkins
#quotes #katherine-jenkins #mistakes #music

The fear among economists across the political spectrum was that we were rapidly plummeting toward a second Great Depression. So in the weeks and months that followed, we undertook a series of difficult steps to prevent that outcome. And we were forced to take those steps, largely without the help of an opposition party, which, unfortunately, after having presided over the decision-making that had led to the crisis, decided to hand it over to others to solve. ~Barack Obama
#quotes #barack-obama #government #economy

If you're "stuck" right now, you're probably into fear. Get out of there. You've already looked both ways. Now cross the street, for heaven sake. The cars have long since gone. The coast is clear. Your only obstacle now is your own mind. ~Neale Donald Walsch
#quotes #neale-donald-walsch #mind

Handball, swimming, running, jumping, basketball, and boxing were as much a part of me as breathing. ~Gene Tunney
#quotes #gene-tunney #sports

I must go on living. And, though it may be childish of me, I can't go on in simple compliance. From now on I must struggle with the world. I thought that Mother might well be the last of those who can end their lives beautifully and sadly, struggling with no one, neither hating nor betraying anyone. In the world to come there will be no room for such people. The dying are beautiful, but to live, to survive; those things somehow seem hideous and contaminated with blood. ~Osamu Dazai
#quotes #osamu-dazai #life #mother #hardship

A hedge between keeps friendship green. ~French Proverb
#proverbs #french-proverbs #friendship

A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials. ~Chinese Proverb
#proverbs #chinese-proverbs #adversity

There are times when I don't take roles because I don't want to be perceived a certain way. ~Harvey Fierstein
#quotes #harvey-fierstein

The success of the dinner depends as much upon the company as the cook. Discordant elements, people invited alphabetically, or to pay off debts, are fatal. ~Ward McAllister
#quotes #ward-mcallister #eating

The support in Britain made a big difference. ~Louise Woodward
#quotes #louise-woodward #britain

I was no Marie Antoinette. I was not born to nobility, but I had a human right to nobility. ~Imelda Marcos
#quotes #imelda-marcos #nobility #humanity

Socialism is a wonderful idea. It is only as a reality that it has been disastrous. Among people of every race, color, and creed, all around the world, socialism has led to hunger in countries that used to have surplus food to export. Nevertheless, for many of those who deal primarily in ideas, socialism remains an attractive idea; in fact, seductive. Its every failure is explained away as due to the inadequacies of particular leaders. ~Thomas Sowell
#quotes #thomas-sowell #socialism

The unexpected stalks a farm in big boots like a vagrant bent on havoc. Not every farmer is an inventor, but the good ones have the seeds of invention within them. Economy and efficiency move their relentless tinkering and yet the real motive often seems to be aesthetic. The mind that first designed a cutter bar is not far different from a mind that can take the intractable steel of an outsized sickle blade and make it hum in the end. The question is how to reduce the simplicity that constitutes a problem to the greater simplicity that constitutes a solution. ~Verlyn Klinkenborg
#quotes #verlyn-klinkenborg