"As if there were safety in stupidity..." - Quote by Henry David Thoreau

“For it matters not how small the beginning may seem to be: what is once well done is done forever.”

“But the divinest poem, or the life of a great man, is the severest satire.... The greater the genius, the keener the edge of the satire.”

“The sport of digging the bait is nearly equal to that of catching the fish, when one's appetite is not too keen.”

“There's no defense against stupidity.”

“I come from a stupid family. My uncle heard that most deaths occurs within ten miles of the house...so he moved.”

“We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.”

“During bomb drills, we students were told to crouch under our desks. Apparently the desks used in classrooms in the fifties were made of an exceptionally missile-resistant variety of wood. During the Cold War years I often wondered why it never occurred to our defense planners to protect the entire nation from nuclear attack by simply covering it, from sea to shining sea, with a huge Strategic Classroom Desk.”

“He who fears dangers will not perish by them.”

“Be wary then; best safety lies in fear.”