We must, then, apply the principle of Doubt to Civilization; we must doubt its necessity, its excellence, and its permanence.

It is known that the best nations have always been those which concede the greatest amount of liberty to women.

Civilization is a social plague on the planet, and vices are just as necessary to it as is a virus to disease.

Despots prefer the friendship of the dog, who, unjustly mistreated and debased, still loves and serves the man who wronged him.

Hosts of merchants encumber the cities, and the streets are cluttered with solicitors who swarm without limit or purpose.

...commerce, which is mistakenly classified among the productive forms of work, ought to be ranked first among the parasitical professions like those of monk, soldier, lawyer etc.

Any civilized administration, however organized, prefers its own good to that of the people.