[N]ow we have a clearer idea what this story is all about: The world was made for man, and man was made to rule it.

I am well convinced that Aerial Navigation will form a most prominent feature in the progress of civilization. (1804)

Any civilization where the main symbol of religious veneration is a tool of execution is a bad place to have children.

There is no way I can avoid thinking about the kind of world I belong to. The abuse of utopias disfigures everything.

They believe civilization weakens natural selection. They do nature’s work so that we do not become a soft race.

The mark of the truly civilized is their (truly baffling to the likes of you and me) patience with what truly baffles.

I think in our desire to create a better America,we have to have civilized debate in this country and not just yelling.

Back then: to be regarded as well-known, one had to be great. Today: to be regarded as great, one has to be well-known.

Are the worst enemies of society those who attack it or those who do not even give themselves the trouble of defending it?

The only gain of civilisation for mankind is the greater capacity for variety of sensations - and absolutely nothing more.

All civilized wo/men are prostitutes: Some sell what's between their legs; the rest sell what's between their ears.

Civilization transformed man from a food gatherer to a gatherer of pieces of paper: diplomas, employment contracts, money, etc.

The purpose of a writer is to keep civilisation from destroying itself."(Interview, New York Post Magazine, September 14, 1958)

When we were on trees, others had lived in skies. When we reach skies, descendant of primitives will someday convey this message.

An angry artist tells people what (he thinks) they need to hear. A hungry artist tells people what (he thinks) they want to hear.