424 quotes
Only on the firm foundation of unyielding despair, can the soul's habitation henceforth be safely built.
A Free Man's Worship (1903)
Is there any knowledge in the world which is so certain that no reasonable man could doubt it?
The Problems of Philosophy (1912)
I have a very simple creed: that life and joy and beauty are better than dusty death.
It is not by prayer and humility that you cause things to go as you wish, but by acquiring a knowledge of natural laws.
The Impact of Science on Society (1952)
In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.
Competition for power is of two sorts: between organizations, and between individuals for leadership within an organization.
Power: A New Social Analysis (1938)
A fanatical belief in democracy makes democratic institutions impossible.
Unpopular Essays (1950)
How much good it would do if one could exterminate the human race.
Whatever merit there may be in the production of goods must be entirely derivative from the advantage to be obtained by consuming them.
In praise of idleness (1932)
The universe is what it is, not what I choose that it should be.
Righteousness cannot be born until self-righteousness is dead.
Justice in War-Time (1916)
The state is primarily an organization for killing foreigners.
Bertrand Russell Speaks His Mind (1960)
If either the absence or the presence of novelty is equally annoying, it would hardly seem that either could be the true cause of despair.
The Conquest of Happiness (1930)
The businessman's religion and glory demand that he should make much money; therefore, like the Hindu widow, he suffers the torment gladly.
I am firm, you are obstinate, he is a pig-headed fool.
Defining w:emotive conjugation on BBC radio program The Brains Trust (1948)
The good life, as I conceive it, is a happy life. I do not mean that if you are good you will be happy; I mean that if you are happy you will be good.
New Hopes for a Changing World (1951)
What science cannot discover, mankind cannot know.
Religion and Science (1935)
Whatever we know without inference is mental.
Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits (1948)
I say quite deliberately that the Christian religion, as organized in its churches, has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world.
Why I Am Not a Christian (1927)
Those who forget good and evil and seek only to know the facts are more likely to achieve good than those who view the world through the distorting medium of their own desires.
Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays (1918)