As long as the centuries continue to unfold, the number of books will grow continually, and one can predict that a time will come when it will be almost as difficult to learn anything from books as from the direct study of the whole universe. It will be almost as convenient to search for some bit of truth concealed in nature as it will be to find it hidden away in an immense multitude of bound volumes.

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.

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

Happiest are the people who give most happiness to others.

Integrity is the evidence of all civil virtues.

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.

If the weather is too cold or rainy, I take shelter in the Regence Cafe, where I entertain myself by watching chess being played. Paris is the world center, and this cafe is the Paris centre for the finest skill at this game.