The world is the house of the strong. I shall not know until the end what I have lost or won in this place, in this vast gambling den where I have spent more than sixty years, dice box in hand, shaking the dice.

First move me, astonish me, break my heart, let me tremble, weep, stare, be enraged-only then regale my eyes.

All things must be examined, debated, investigated without exception and without regard for anyone's feelings.

No man has received from nature the right to give orders to others. Freedom is a gift from heaven, and every individual of the same species has the right to enjoy it as soon as he is in enjoyment of his reason.

In order to get as much fame as one's father one has to much more able than he.

A nation which thinks that it is belief in God and not good law which makes people honest does not seem to me very advanced.

The arbitrary rule of a just and enlightened prince is always bad. His virtues are the most dangerous and the surest form of seduction: they lull a people imperceptibly into the habit of loving, respecting, and serving his successor, whoever that successor may be, no matter how wicked or stupid.