What a chimaera then is man, what a novelty, what a monster, what chaos, what a subject of contradiction, what a prodigy! Judge of all things, yet an imbecile earthworm; depository of truth, yet a sewer of uncertainty and error; pride and refuse of the universe. Who shall resolve this tangle?

Who confers reputation? who gives respect and veneration to persons, to books, to great men? Who but Opinion? How utterly insufficient are all the riches of the world without her approbation!

Jesus is the God whom we can approach without pride and before whom we can humble ourselves without despair.

The greater intellect one has, the more originality one finds in men. Ordinary persons find no difference between men.

Flies are so mighty that they win battles, paralyse our minds, eat up our bodies.

God is, or He is not." But to which side shall we incline? Reason can decide nothing here. There is an infinite chaos which separated us. A game is being played at the extremity of this infinite distance where heads or tails will turn up. What will you wager?

Anyone who found the secret of rejoicing when things go well without being annoyed when they go badly would have found the point.