Christopher Hitchens

"Solidarity without sentiment cannot exist."

"The duty of the writer is to tell the truth, especially to power."

"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster."

"No one deserves to be told what to believe."

"History is a long series of arguments about meaning."

"The state is a necessary evil, not a redemptive one."

"The more you read, the more you know. The more you know, the more you realize how little you understand."

"To live is to experience joy and suffering simultaneously."

"The purpose of the press is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable."

"One should always prefer the company of the intelligent to that of the merely sincere."

"Memory is not mere nostalgia; it is the foundation of identity."

"The argument from design presumes a designer with no evidence of design."

"Cynicism is disappointment with a good sense of humor."

"War has become too important to be left to lawyers alone."

"The truly cultured person is one who can enjoy all forms of art without dogma."

"Ambition should be examined closely for the seeds of tyranny."

"The absence of war does not guarantee the presence of peace."

"Capitalism and totalitarianism are not as opposed as some claim."

"The human mind is capable of containing contradictions that seem irreconcilable."

"To accept the existence of suffering and still affirm life is the ultimate strength."

"The person who smiles while discussing his own extinction deserves our attention."

"Nothing trivial is ever truly trivial if it means something to someone."

"The greatest threat to human welfare comes from those convinced of their moral superiority."

"One must maintain one's sense of humor in the face of absurdity."

"The mind is not meant to be imprisoned by received opinion."

"Disappointment is the gap between expectation and reality; wisdom is accepting this gap."

"The work ethic of the totalitarian system reflects its fundamental dishonesty."

"True independence of thought requires constant vigilance against conformity."

"The person content with mystery is often the one least concerned with truth."

"To argue from authority is to abandon argument altogether."