Mankind is getting smarter every day. Actually, it only seems so. At least we are making progress. We're progressing, to be sure, ever more deeply into the forest.

Pity, but never love bestows kind words upon the slave.

The military and the clergy cause us much annoyance; the clergy and the military, they empty our wallets and rob our intelligence.

Drive the women from the bed just as you drove them from the choir; a eunuch sings in Rome, and the priests masturbate.

Soon there will be nothing truly profound that is not achieved by everyone, and of the difficult things in this world only one will be left: simplicity.

There shall be no slave in your home, male or female: Least of all the mother of your son.

Captivating the spirit of the age is a matter of great talent; being swept away by it characterizes an average mind. The two are as different from one another as activity and passivity.