The Christian conceives of his abode on Earth in no more delightful colors than the Jainist sectarian. He sees in it only a time of sad trial; he also thinks that his true country is not of this world.

Man is a moral being, only because he lives in society. Let all social life disappear and morality will disappear with it.

Socialism is not a science, a sociology in miniature: it is a cry of pain.

Science cannot describe individuals, but only types. If human societies cannot be classified, they must remain inaccessible to scientific description.

To pursue a goal which is by definition unattainable is to condemn oneself to a state of perpetual unhappiness.

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.

There is no sociology worthy of the name which does not possess a historical character.