The majority of men... are not capable of thinking, but only of believing, and... are not accessible to reason, but only to authority.

The greatest wisdom is to make the enjoyment of the present the supreme object of life; because that is the only reality, all else being merely the play of thought. On the other hand, such a course might just as well be called the greatest folly: for that which in the next moment exists no more, and vanishes utterly, like a dream, can never be worth a serious effort.

Life is a task to be done. It is a fine thing to say defunctus est; it means that the man has done his task.

Religion is the masterpiece of the art of animal training, for it trains people as to how they shall think.

A writer should never be brief at the expense of being clear.

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

Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an instrument, in the same way as genius in respect to art. It would be as foolish to expect that our moral and ethical systems would turn out virtuous, noble, and holy beings, as that our aesthetic systems would produce poets, painters, and musicians.