As soon as man enters into a state of society he loses the sense of his weakness; equality ceases, and then commences the state of war.

Not to be loved is a misfortune, but it is an insult to be loved no longer.

Fain would I glide down a gentle river, but I am carried away by a torrent.

Useless laws weaken the necessary laws.

Men in excess of happiness or misery are equally inclined to severity. Witness conquerors and monks! It is mediocrity alone, and a mixture of prosperous and adverse fortune that inspire us with lenity and pity.

I never listen to calumnies, because if they are untrue I run the risk of being deceived, and if they be true, of hating persons not worth thinking about.

Do you think that God will punish them for not practicing a religion which he did not reveal to them?