An irreligious man is not one who denies the gods of the majority, but one who applies to the gods the opinions of the majority. For what most men say about the gods are not ideas derived from sensation, but false opinions, according to which the greatest evils come to the wicked, and the greatest blessings come to the good from the gods.

The mind that is much elevated and insolent with prosperity, and cast down with adversity, is generally abject and base.

It is better for you to be free of fear lying upon a pallet, than to have a golden couch and a rich table and be full of trouble.

I have never wished to cater to the crowd; for what I know they do not approve, and what they approve I do not know.

The knowledge of sin is the beginning of salvation.

Let nothing be done in your life, which will cause you fear if it becomes known to your neighbor.

We begin every act of choice and avoidance from pleasure, and it is to pleasure that we return using our experience of pleasure as the criterion of every good thing.