Aeschylus

"It is a profitable thing, if one is wise, to seem foolish." -- Aeschylus

This may be a useful ploy sometimes, but it is a foolish as a general principle.

Pythagoras, mathematician

"Above all things, reverence yourself." -- Pythagoras

It is true that I am made in the image of God and so should be revered, but certainly not above all things.

Epictetus, philosopher

Only the educated are free. -Epictetus, philosopher (c. 60-120)

If we take educated to mean what we usually do today, this isn't true. "The truth shall set you free," but being educated these days doesn't necessarily result in knowing the truth. But one can learn the truth that sets him free without ever going to school.

Seneca

"Difficulties strengthen the mind, as well as labor does the body." -- Seneca

As with physical labor, how one approaches difficulties impacts their effects on the mind.

Salman Rushdie, writer

What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist. -Salman Rushdie, writer (b. 1947)

The bounds for freedom of expression are set by truth, not by offense given. This principle is even enshrined in common law.

Michio Kaku, physicist

"Did God have a mother?" Children, when told that God made the heavens and the earth, innocently ask whether God had a mother. This deceptively simple question has stumped the elders of the church and embarrassed the finest theologians, precipitating some of the thorniest theological debates over the centuries. All the great religions have elaborate mythologies surrounding the divine act of Creation, but none of them adequately confronts the logical paradoxes inherent in the question that even children ask. -Michio Kaku, physicist (b. 1947)

As brilliant as he is in physics, I think he has not really looked into the subject he is pontificating on here. Over the two thousand years of Christian theology, the nature of God, including this aspect, has been deeply pondered and the paradoxes confronted. But perhaps it is just that he can't get out of the materialist box.

Douglas Adams, satirist (1952-201)

I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that I don't know the answer. -Douglas Adams, satirist (1952-2001)

Well done! Unfortunately, not everyone takes that view.

Studs Terkel, author

"Most of us, like the assembly line worker, have jobs that are too small for our spirit." -- Studs Terkel

None of us has a job that is big enough for our spirits, because our spirits were created for God. Our worship sometimes comes close to being completely fulfilling, but only in eternity will we be completely satisfied.