Poe tried alcohol, and any drug he could lay his hands on. He also tried any human being he could lay his hands on.
One always speaks badly when one has nothing to say
If you want to know who controls you, look at who you are not allowed to criticize.
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.
The hallmark of a free society is that I may totally disapprove of what you say, but I'll defend your right to say it until I die.
It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.
The more often a stupidity is repeated, the more it gets the appearance of wisdom.
Words reduce reality to something the human mind can grasp, which isn’t very much.
I had been simply treating water, settling on surviving and avoiding pain rather than being actively involved in seeking out life.
Spurious fame spreads from tongue to tongue like the fog of the early dawn before the sun rises.
The sea is dangerous and its storms terrible, but these obstacles have never been sufficient reason to remain ashore. . . unlike the mediocre, intrepid spirits seek victory over those things that seem impossible. . . it is with an iron will that they embark on the most daring of all endeavors. . . to meet the shadowy future without fear and conquer the unknown.