The philosophy of the common man is an old wife that gives him no pleasure, yet he cannot live without her, and resents any aspersions that strangers may cast on her character.

There is a kind of courtesy in skepticism. It would be an offense against polite conventions to press our doubts too far.

The empiricist... thinks he believes only what he sees, but he is much better at believing than at seeing.

Skepticism is the chastity of the intellect.

Prayer, among sane people, has never superseded practical efforts to secure the desired end.

Boston is a moral and intellectual nursery always busy applying first principals to trifles.

To knock a thing down, especially if it is cocked at an arrogant angle, is a deep delight to the blood.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

The irrational in the human has something about it altogether repulsive and terrible, as we see in the maniac, the miser, the drunkard or the ape.

Science is nothing but developed perception, interpreted intent, common sense rounded out and minutely articulated.