What restrains us from killing is partly fear of punishment, partly moral scruple, and partly what may be described as a sense of humor

A sense of humor always withers in the presence of the messianic delusion, like justice and truth in front of patriotic passion

The argument that capital punishment degrades the state is moonshine, for if that were true then it would degrade the state to send men to war... The state, in truth, is degraded in its very nature: a few butcheries cannot do it any further damage.

The idea that the sole aim of punishment is to prevent crime is obviously grounded upon the theory that crime can be prevented, which is almost as dubious as the notion that poverty can be prevented

It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office.

Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy