The philosophers talk to you about the dignity of man, and they tempt you to pride, or they talk to you about the misery of man, and they tempt you to despair.

If there is a God, He is infinitely incomprehensible, since, having, neither parts nor limits, He has no affinity to us. We are then incapable of knowing either what He is or if He is. [So] you must wager. Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager then without hesitation that he is.

Fashion is a tyrant from which nothing frees us. We must suit ourselves to its fantastic tastes. But being compelled to live under its foolish laws, the wise man is never the first to follow, nor the last to keep it.

People are generally better persuaded by the reasons which they have themselves discovered than by those which have come in to the mind of others.

Don't try to add more years to your life. Better add more life to your years.

The parts of the universe ... all are connected with each other in such a way that I think it to be impossible to understand any one without the whole.

The majority is the best way, because it is visible, and has strength to make itself obeyed. Yet it is the opinion of the least able.