Great Throughts Treasury

"If by saying that all men are born free and equal, you mean that they are all equally born; it is true, but true in no other sense; birth, talent, labor, virtue, and providence, are forever making differences."

" I see everything as a counterfeit. That is what I believe, but of course that doesn't give me the right to be cruel towards others, or to discriminate them. You get what you choose, you are given what you ask for."

"Everywhere around us there are images and symbols, not made by men, but by God himself: trees, sky, mountains. The beauty, complexity and marvel of nature form the image of who He is and what He is. But man wants more and more and gets caught in symbols and rituals that give him a sense of being closer to God in that way, and that isn't always the case. Naturally there are images that have a purpose, in painting for instance. Images from the New Testament, or from Christ and the apostles. I think they are all fine. In the Middle Ages artists like Bouts or Bosch used there talents to convey the message of the Bible to people who probably couldn't even read or write. And that's what it's all about, go around and let people know about Him."