An educated mind is, as it were, composed of all the minds of preceding ages.

We must always skim over pleasures. They are like marshy lands that we must travel nimbly, hardly daring to put down our feet.

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.

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.

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

Mathematicians are like lovers. Grant a mathematician the least principle, and he will draw from it a consequence which you must also grant him, and from this consequence another.

If I had my hand full of truth, I would take good care how I opened it.