Even those who write against fame wish for the fame of having written well, and those who read their works desire the fame of having read them.

There are two equally dangerous extremes-to shut reason out, and to let nothing else in.

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.

There is no arena in which vanity displays itself under such a variety of forms as in conversation.

What a chimera then is man. What a novelty! What a monster... what a contradiction, what a prodigy

When we do not know the truth of a thing, it is good that there should exist a common error which determines the mind of man, as, for example, the moon, to which is attributed the change of seasons, the progress of diseases, etc. For the chief malady of man is a restless curiosity about things which he cannot understand; and it is not so bad for him to be in error as to be curious to no purpose.

Reason commands us far more imperiously than a master; for in disobeying the one we are unfortunate, and in disobeying the other we are fools.