- One should respect public opinion insofar as is necessary to avoid starvation and to keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny, and is likely to interfere with happiness in all kinds of ways. – Bertrand Russell, English mathematician-philosopher (1872-1970)
- Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world. – Percy Bysshe Shelley, poet (1792-1822)
- Death comes equally to us all, and makes us all equal when it comes. – John Donne, poet (1573-1631)
- Cheer up! The worst is yet to come! – Philander Chase Johnson, American author (1866-1939)
- Do not look back. And do not dream about the future, either. It will neither give you back the past, nor satisfy your other daydreams. Your duty, your reward – your destiny – are here and now. – Dag Hammarskjold, United Nations Secretary-General (1905-1961)