It was the duty of wives to submit to husbands, not of husbands to submit to wives. . . men have stronger muscles than women.

Next to enjoying ourselves, the next greatest pleasure consists in preventing others from enjoying themselves, or, more generally, in the acquisition of power.

One of the most powerful of all our passions is the desire to be admired and respected.

RELIGION: A set of beliefs held as dogmas, dominating the conduct of life, going beyond or contrary to evidence, and inculcated by methods which are emotional or authoritarian, not intellectual.

Education, which was at first made universal in order that all might be able to read and write, has been found capable of serving quite other purposes. By instilling nonsense it unifies populations and generates collective enthusiasm.

No nation was ever so virtuous as each believes itself, and none was ever so wicked as each believes the other.

The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.