It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly. Real life is, to most men, a long second-best, a perpetual compromise between the ideal and the possible; but the world of pure reason knows no compromise, no practical limitations, no barrier to the creative activity. Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons. To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness. We have, in fact, two kinds of morality side by side; one which we preach but do not practise, and another which we practise but seldom preach. To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization, and at present very few people have reached this level. A process which led from the amoebae to man appeared to the philosophers to be obviously a progress - though whether the amoebae would agree with this opinion is not known. Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom, in the pursuit of truth as in the endeavour after a worthy manner of life. I've always thought respectable people scoundrels, and I look anxiously at my face every morning for signs of my becoming a scoundrel. Most people would rather die than think: many do. | 
