Even when the experts all agree, they may well be mistaken.

In America everybody is of the opinion that he has no social superiors, since all men are equal, but he does not admit that he has no social inferiors, for, from the time of Jefferson onward, the doctrine that all men are equal applies only upwards, not downwards.

Our great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man, and our politicians take advantage of this prejudice by pretending to be even more stupid than nature made them.

The widespread interest in gossip is inspired, not by a love of knowledge but by malice: no one gossips about other people’s secret virtues.

Although tact is a virtue, it is very closely allied to certain vices; the line between tact and hypocrisy is a very narrow one. I think the distinction comes in the motive.

The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.

It is preoccupation with possession, more than anything else, that prevents men from living freely and nobly.

To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness.

There are two motives for reading a book: one, that you enjoy it; the other, that you can boast about it.

No one gossips about other people’s secret virtues.