Some volumes against Deism fell into my hands ... they produced an effect precisely the reverse to what was intended by the writers; for the arguments of the Deists, which were cited in order to be refuted, appeared to me much more forcibly than the refutation itself; in a word, I soon became a thorough Deist.

What more valuable than Gold? Diamonds. Than Diamonds? Virtue.

Vice knows [its] ugly, so [it] puts on [a] mask.

Anyone willing to give up liberty in exchange for security deserves neither.

Never take a wife till thou hast a house (and a fire) to put her in.

He who falls in love with himself will have no rivals.

No employment can be managed without arithmetic, no mechanical invention without geometry.