Were civilization itself to be estimated by some of its results, it would seem perhaps better for what we call the barbarous part of the world to remain unchanged. Typee
Do not economize on the hymeneal rites; do not prune them of their splendor, nor split farthings on the day when you are radiant. A wedding is not house-keeping. Les Misérables
To escape boredom, man works either beyond what his usual needs require, or else he invents play, that is, work that is designed to quiet no need other than that for working in general. Human, All Too Human
If ... Australia and Eurasia could have been interchanged ... Eurasians would be ... reduced to ... fragments. Guns, Germs And Steel
Quotes