Much of what Tea Party candidates claimed about the world and the global economy during the 2010 elections would have earned their adherents a well-deserved F in any freshman economics (or earth science) class.

The central task of science is to arrive stage by stage at a clearer comprehension of nature but this does not at all mean as it is sometimes claimed to mean a search for mastery over nature.

It has become almost a cliche to remark that nobody boasts of ignorance of literature but it is socially acceptable to boast ignorance of science and proudly claim incompetence in mathematics.

We are born at a given moment in a given place and like vintage years of wine we have the qualities of the year and of the season of which we are born. Astrology does not lay claim to anything more.

It's a sad and stupid thing to have to proclaim yourself a revolutionary just to be a decent man.

And in this respect the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been a tragedy a clash between one very powerful very convincing very painful claim over this land and another no less powerful no less convincing claim.

The only ground on which a neutral State can claim respect at the hands of belligerents is that so far as she is concerned their rights are protected.

There are so many things to think about when you make an album. Like who am I trying to impress? Am I going to get respect critical acclaim? Or am I going to sell lots of records?

The advent of a new religion making serious and impressive claims to embody a new revelation from on high is not a frequent occurrence.

Nations are equal in respect to each other and entitled to claim equal consideration for their rights whatever may be their relative dimensions or strength or however greatly they may differ in government religion or manners.