Instinct guides the animal better than the man. In the animal it is pure, in man it is led astray by his reason and intelligence.

I have not the hope of being immortal, because the desire of it has not given me that vanity.

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.

There is no true sovereign except the nation; there can be no true legislator except the people.

There is not a Musselman alive who would not imagine that he was performing an action pleasing to God and his Holy Prophet by exterminating every Christian on earth, while the Christians are scarcely more tolerant on their side.

My friend, you should blow out your candle in order to find your way more clearly.

Wandering in a vast forest at night, I have only a faint light to guide me. A stranger appears and says to me: 'My friend, you should blow out your candle in order to find your way more clearly.' This stranger is a theologian.