Culture is the study of perfection, and the constant effort to achieve it.

Sometimes it's only the young ones who are crazy enough to change the world.

Idealism is the despot of thought, just as politics is the despot of will.

The author explains that some find recourse from injustice in literature and art but that these tend to deepen sensitivity to injustice rather than dull it.

In the fluid world of 1919, it was possible to dream of great change, or have nightmares about the collapse of order.

Idealistic notions that guide a younger person frequently prove unsustainable. Concluding any stage of life demands that a person rebuilds oneself after living destroys our ideological beliefs.

The more idealism proves futile, the more I respect idealists.

A youth is susceptible to the influence of idealist notions. As a person ages, they notice a gap between their expectations and reality and they grow more pessimistic about the world and their ability to live up to the lofty notions that inspired a younger self.

It's my duty as a human being to be pissed off.

Imagine there's no countriesIt isn't hard to doNothing to kill or die forAnd no religion tooImagine all the peopleLiving life in peaceYou may say that I'm a dreamerBut I'm not the only oneI hope someday you'll join usAnd the world will be as one.