Sinclair Lewis

"To lose one's self-respect is a tragedy; to gain another's is a triumph."

"The most dangerous creature on earth is the man who has no sense of humor."

"To every man his chance, to every man, regardless of his birth, his shining, golden opportunity."

"Our American professors like their literature clear, cold, pure, and very dead."

"He could not believe that he had wasted all those years on a woman who was not worth his time."

"The Puritan hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators."

"In the modern world, money is the only power that matters."

"He discovered that in the pursuit of excellence, comfort becomes irrelevant."

"Americans are so enamored of equality that they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom."

"The fear of being ordinary is what drives most people to extraordinary measures."

"In small towns, gossip is the primary industry and scandal the chief entertainment."

"Education should teach us how to think, not what to think."

"The greatest tragedy is not failure, but the failure to even attempt."

"Man's greatest discovery is that he can do whatever he believes he can do."

"Progress requires the willingness to be ridiculed by those who prefer the familiar."

"A man who does not read is no better off than a man who cannot read."

"The pursuit of happiness often destroys the possibility of being happy."

"In civilization, we have exchanged freedom for the illusion of security."

"Integrity is doing what you believe is right when nobody is watching."

"The artist must be willing to sacrifice comfort for the sake of creation."

"Most people's lives are determined by circumstance rather than choice."

"Love is the only force that can transform a mediocre life into something meaningful."

"The marketplace rewards conformity and punishes originality."

"Time is the one currency we cannot replenish once spent."

"Friendship requires the courage to be honest even when it hurts."

"The modern age suffers from an excess of information and a deficit of wisdom."

"Power corrupts slowly, but it corrupts inevitably."

"A man is measured not by his ambitions but by his character."

"The root of most social problems is the pretense of certainty."

"Beauty is often mistaken for goodness, and goodness for weakness."