Great men are like eagles, and build their nest on some lofty solitude.

A high degree of intellect tends to make a man unsocial.

Patriotism is the passion of fools and the most foolish of passions.

If God made the world, I would not be that God, for the misery of the world would break my heart.

The weakness of their reasoning faculty also explains why women show more sympathy for the unfortunate than men;... and why, on the contrary, they are inferior to men as regards justice, and less honourable and conscientious.

Students and scholars of all kinds and of every age aim, as a rule, only at information, not insight. They make it a point of honour to have information about everything, every stone, plant, battle, or experiment and about all books, collectively and individually. It never occurs to them that information is merely a means to insight, but in itself is of little or no value.

Life is a constant process of dying.