In general, pride is at the bottom of all great mistakes. There is hardly anything in the world that some man can't make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey. When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece. Conventional people are roused to fury by departures from convention, largely because they regard such departures as a criticism of themselves. Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.
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 endeavor after a worthy manner of life. The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge. Happiness is not best achieved by those who seek it directly. In all things it is a good idea to hang a question mark now and then on the things we have taken for granted. I think it unlikely that God would possess so uneasy a vanity as to be offended by my views about his existence.