Good humor is a philosophic state of mind; it seems to say to nature that we take her no more seriously than she takes us.
Ernest RenanAll the great things of humanity have been accomplished in the name of absolute principles.
Ernest RenanIt is through Christianity that Judaism has really conquered the world. Christianity is the masterpiece of Judaism.
Ernest RenanMorality has been conceived up to the present in a very narrow spirit, as obedience to a law, as inner struggle between opposite laws. As for me, I declare that when I do good I obey no one, I fight no battle and win no victory. The cultivated person has only to follow the delicious incline of his or her inner impulses. Be beautiful and then do at each moment whatever your heart may inspire you to do. This is the whole of morality.
Ernest Renan