I am more affected by the attractions of virtue than by the deformities of vice; I turn gently away from the wicked and I fly to meet the good. If there is in a literary work, in a character, in a picture, in a statue, a beautiful spot, that is where my eyes rest; I see only that, I remember only that, all the rest is well-nigh forgotten. What becomes of me when the whole work is beautiful!

Oh! how near are genius and madness! Men imprison them and chain them, or raise statues to them.

Scepticism is the first step toward truth.

If there were a reason for preferring the Christian religion to natural religion, it would be because the former offers us, on the nature of God and man, enlightenment that the latter lacks. Now, this is not at all the case; for Christianity, instead of clarifying, gives rise to an infinite multitude of obscurities and difficulties.

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

You can be sure that a painter reveals himself in his work as much as and more than a writer does in his.

In general, children, like men, and men, like children, prefer entertainment to education.