"Fear paralyzes the brain. Progress is born of courage, Fear believes — courage doubts. Fear falls upon the earth and prays — courage stands erect and thinks. Fear retreats — courage advances. Fear is barbarism — courage is civilization. Fear believes in witchcraft, in devils and in ghosts. Fear is religion, courage is science."
"He [Prodicus] says that the gods worshiped by men neither exist nor have knowledge, but that the ancients exalted crops and everything else that is useful for life."
"I don’t believe in an afterlife, so I don’t have to spend my whole life fearing hell, or fearing heaven even more. For whatever the tortures of hell, I think the boredom of heaven would be even worse"