Christopher Hitchens

"The dictator of North Korea starves his people and threatens his neighbors because nobody has the power to stop him."

"If you gave him an enema you could bury him in a matchbox."

"Many people would not want their children exposed to the actual teachings of Jesus."

"The atheist has to live with the knowledge that he will never see his loved ones again, yet he finds this acceptable."

"One can only be disappointed by something one once hoped for."

"The more powerful the position, the more vigilant one must be against the corruption it brings."

"Morality is not handed down from above; it emerges from human experience and reason."

"The revolutionary vanguard always becomes the new oppressor class."

"The unexamined life may not be worth living, but the over-examined life can be paralyzing."

"One should never accept the framing of a question posed by one's adversary."

"The person who says something is indescribable usually proceeds to describe it."

"Civilization is maintained by force, but it is created by art."

"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas and still function."

"One cannot be both an empiricist and a believer in the supernatural."

"History does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes."

"The person who is against abortion but for capital punishment is inconsistent in a particularly troubling way."

"Humility is a virtue, but excessive humility is just another form of arrogance."

"The English language is a weapon that can be wielded for good or for ill."

"One must always distinguish between those who believe things and those who pretend to believe them."

"The worst fate is to become what you once opposed."

"An appeal to authority is not an argument; it is a surrender of argument."

"The person who claims to have found absolute truth has already begun to lose it."

"One cannot have it both ways: either humans are born with rights or they are given rights by the state."

"The most dangerous ideologies are those that claim to have history on their side."

"If one cannot criticize a belief without being accused of bigotry, that belief has become a bully."

"The poor are not helped by condescension; they are helped by justice."

"Memory is the enemy of accuracy; we remember what we need to remember, not what actually happened."

"One should never trust the person who claims to represent the voice of the voiceless."

"The person who says she is 'spiritual but not religious' has usually thought very little about either."

"To argue that God is necessary for morality is to admit that you would do terrible things if you thought you could get away with them."