Man can, indeed, act contrarily to the decrees of God, as far as they have been written like laws in the minds of ourselves or the prophets, but against that eternal decree of God, which is written in universal nature, and has regard to the course of nature as a whole, he can do nothing.

Things which are accidentally the causes either of hope or fear are called good or evil omens.

A good thing which prevents us from enjoying a greater good is in truth an evil.

If anyone conceives, that an object of his love joins itself to another with closer bonds of friendship than he himself has attained to, he will be affected with hatred towards the loved object and with envy towards his rival.

Statesman are suspected of plotting against mankind, rather than consulting their interests, and are esteemed more crafty than learned.

God is a thing that thinks.

So long as a man imagines that he cannot do this or that, so long as he is determined not to do it; and consequently so long as it is impossible to him that he should do it.