Whether God exists or does not exist, He has come to rank among the most sublime and useless truths.

There is only one duty; that is to be happy.

Passions destroy more prejudices than philosophy does.

Whether God exists or does not exist, He has come to rank among the most sublime and useless truths.

There comes a moment during which almost every girl or boy falls into melancholy; they are tormented by a vague inquietude which rests on everything and finds nothing to calm it. They seek solitude; they weep; the silence to be found in cloister attracts them: the image of peace that seems to reign in religious houses seduces them. They mistake the first manifestations of a developing sexual nature for the voice of God calling them to Himself; and it is precisely when nature is inciting them that they embrace a fashion of life contrary to nature's wish.

It is not the man who is beside himself, but he who is cool and collected,--who is master of his countenance, of his voice, of his actions, of his gestures, of every part of his play,--who can work upon others at his pleasure.

Fanaticism is just one step away from barbarism.