[Thanatopsis] was written in 1817, when Bryant was 23. Had he died then, the world would have thought it had lost a great poet. But he lived on.

Freedom of speech and freedom of action are meaningless without freedom to think. And there is no freedom of thought without doubt.

Legislators who are of even average intelligence stand out among their colleagues ... A cultured college president has become as much a rarity as a literate ne…

Lying is an indispensable part of making life tolerable.