An old philosopher said to Monsieur Coignard, a Reverend Father: 'You are a pig!' To which Abad Coignard answered: 'You flatter me, sir. But unfortunately, I'm only a man.'

Chance is perhaps the pseudonym of God when he did not want to sign.

It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.

It is only the poor who are forbidden to beg.

What frightens us most in a madman is his sane conversation.

The first virtue of all really great men is that they are sincere. They eradicate hypocrisy from their hearts.

Word-carpentry is like any other kind of carpentry: you must join your sentences smoothly.