It would repel me less to be a hangman than a soldier, because the one is obliged to put to death only criminals sentenced by the law, but the other kills honest men who like himself bathe in innocent blood at the bidding of some superior.

To be happy you must have taken the measure of your powers, tasted the fruits of your passion, and learned your place in the world.

The loftiest edifices need the deepest foundations.

The Difficult is that which can be done immediately; the Impossible that which takes a little longer.

Music is a means of giving form to our inner feelings, without attaching them to events or objects in the world.

A fanatical imagination cannot regard God as just unless he is represented as infinitely cruel.

Do not have evil-doers for friends, do not have low people for friends: have virtuous people for friends, have for friends the best of men.