Henry Louis Mencken, The American Mercury, January 1924

The liberation of the human mind has never been furthered by dunderheads; it has been furthered by gay fellows who heaved dead cats into sanctuaries and then went roistering down the highways of the world, proving to all men that doubt, after all, was safe—that the god in the sanctuary was finite in his power and hence a fraud. One horse-laugh is worth ten thousand syllogisms. It is not only more effective; it is also vastly more intelligent.

G. B. Shaw, Winston Churchill

"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play, bring a friend ... if you have one."
George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second ... if there is one."
Winston Churchill, in response

Tony Kushner, Angels in America

Harper: I'm undecided. I feel ... that something's going to give. It's 1985. Fifteen years till the third millenium. Maybe Christ will come again. Maybe seeds will be planted, maybe there'll be harvests then, maybe early figs to eat, maybe new life, maybe fresh blood, maybe companionship and love and protection, safety from what's outside, maybe the door will hold, or maybe ... maybe the troubles will come, and the end will come, and the sky will collapse and there will be terrible rains and showers of poison light, or maybe my life is really fine, maybe Joe loves me and I'm only crazy thinking otherwise, or maybe not, maybe it's even worse than I know.