“It seems strange indeed that so practical and pressing a truth as that of purgatory should be dismissed, while so remote and impractical a doctrine as the absolute everlastingness of hell should be insisted on.”

UN Address (1999)
Context: For how many thousands of years now have we humans been what we insist on calling "civilized?" And yet, in total contradiction, we also persist in the savage belief that we must occasionally, at least, settle our arguments by killing one another.
While we spend much of our time and a great deal of our treasure in preparing for war, we see no comparable effort to establish a lasting peace. Meanwhile, emphasizing the sloth in this regard, those advocates who work for world peace by urging a system of world government are called impractical dreamers. Those impractical dreamers are entitled to ask their critics what is so practical about war.

Truth, ii
The Note-Books of Samuel Butler (1912), Part XIX - Truth and Convenience

One Minute News (1947), interview with British Pathé's John Parsons

Truth, vii
The Note-Books of Samuel Butler (1912), Part XIX - Truth and Convenience

Newtonian Studies (1965), p. 114.

Edicts of Ashoka (c. 257 BC)
Context: Beloved-of-the-Gods speaks thus: Father and mother should be respected and so should elders, kindness to living beings should be made strong and the truth should be spoken. In these ways, the Dhamma should be promoted. Likewise, a teacher should be honored by his pupil and proper manners should be shown towards relations. This is an ancient rule that conduces to long life. Thus should one act.

Source: The Book of Disquiet

Source: Anti-Intellectualism in American Life (1974), p. 30