Women react differently: a French woman who sees herself betrayed by her husband will kill his mistress; an Italian will kill her husband; a Spaniard will kill both; and a German will kill herself.

Nature intends that, at fixed periods, men should succeed each other by the instrumentality of death. We shall never outwit Nature; we shall die as usual.

If I held all the thoughts of the world in my hand, I would be careful not to open it.

People almost always do great things without knowing how to do them, and are quite surprised to have done them.

Nothing can be more destructive to ambition, and the passion for conquest, than the true system of astronomy. What a poor thing is even the whole globe in comparison of the infinite extent of nature!

I shall leave the world without regret, for it hardly contains a single good listener.

A philospher sees the Earth as a large planet, travelling through the heavens, covered with fools