The doctor sees all the weakness of mankind; the lawyer all the wickedness, the theologian all the stupidity.

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.

All religions promise a reward beyond life, in eternity, for excellences of the will or heart, but none for excellences of the head or understanding.

What people commonly call fate is mostly their own stupidity.

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

The alchemists in their search for gold discovered many other things of greater value.

There are, first of all, two kinds of authors: those who write for the subject's sake, and those who write for writing's sake.