Man's characteristic privilege is that the bond he accepts is not physical but moral; that is, social. He is governed not by a material environment brutally imposed on him, but by a conscience superior to his own, the superiority of which he feels. Because the greater, better part of his existence transcends the body, he escapes the body's yoke, but is subject to that of society.

Man is only a moral being because he lives in society, since morality consists in solidarity with the group, and varies according to that solidarity. Cause all social life to vanish, and moral life would vanish at the same time, having no object to cling to.

It is science, and not religion, which has taught men that things are complex and difficult to understand.

We do not condemn it because it is a crime, but it is a crime because we condemn it.

Each new generation is reared by its predecessor; the latter must therefore improve in order to improve its successor. The movement is circular.

Man could not live if he were entirely impervious to sadness. Many sorrows can be endured only by being embraced, and the pleasure taken in them naturally has a somewhat melancholy character.

It is too great comfort which turns a man against himself. Life is most readily renounced at the time and among the classes where it is least harsh.