A man of genius can hardly be sociable, for what dialogues could indeed be so intelligent and entertaining as his own monologues?

...a genuine work of art, can never be false, nor can it be discredited through the lapse of time, for it does not present an opinion but the thing itself.

Always to see the general in the particular is the very foundation of genius.

Happiness of any given life is to be measured, not by its joys and pleasures, but by the extent to which it has been free from suffering-from positive evil.

Necessity is the constant scourge of the lower classes, ennui of the higher ones.

Every human perfection is allied to a defect into which it threatens to pass, but it is also true that every defect is allied to a perfection.

The art of not reading is a very important one. It consists in not taking an interest in whatever may be engaging the attention of the general public at any particular time. When some political or ecclesiastical pamphlet, or novel, or poem is making a great commotion, you should remember that he who writes for fools always finds a large public. A precondition for reading good books is not reading bad ones: for life is short.