"I am not ambitious to appear a man of letters: I could be content the world should think I had scarce looked upon any other book than that of nature."

Next Quote

It is the most ambitious and driven among us who are the most sorely in need of having our reckless hopes dampened through immersive dousings in the darkness which religions have explored. This is a particular priority for secular Americans, perhaps the most anxious and disappointed people on earth, for their nation infuses them with the most extreme hopes about what they may be able to achieve in their working lives and relationships.

— Alain de Botton