The less the mind understands and the more things it perceives, the greater its power of feigning is; and the more things it understands, the more that power is diminished.

Superstition, then, is engendered, preserved, and fostered by fear.

It is not possible that we should remember that we existed before our body, for our can bear no trace of such existence, neither can eternity be defined in terms of time or have any relation to time. But notwithstanding, we feel and know that we are eternal.

Nature offers nothing that can be called this man's rather than another's; but under nature everything belongs to all.

It is usually the case with most men that their nature is so constituted that they pity those who fare badly and envy those who fare well.

Except God no substance can be granted or conceived. .. Everything, I say, is in God, and all things which are made, are made by the laws of the infinite nature of God, and necessarily follows from the necessity of his essence.

The most tyrannical of governments are those which make crimes of opinions, for everyone has an inalienable right to his thoughts.