“The idea that a good God would send people to a burning hell is utterly damnable to me - the ravings of insanity, superstition gone to see! I want no part of such a God”

“The hours of a wise man are lengthened by his ideas”

“Words, when well chosen, have so great a force in them that a description often gives us more lively ideas than the sight of things themselves”

“Everything that is new or uncommon raises a pleasure in the imagination, because it fills the soul with an agreeable surprise, gratifies its curiosity, and gives it an idea of which it was not before possessed”

“You can judge your age by the amount of pain you feel when you come in contact with a new idea.”

“If your goal is to reduce costs, then coal is a good idea. If the goal is a renewable fuel, coal is a bad idea. When greenhouse-gas emissions go up, environmentalists take note. Then you've got a problem”