A pious man is one who would be an atheist if the king were.

We seek our happiness outside ourselves, and in the opinion of men we know to be flatterers, insincere, unjust, full of envy, caprice and prejudice.

Logic is the art of convincing us some truth.

The best thing next to wit is a consciousness that it is not in us; without wit, a man might then know how to behave himself, so as not to appear to be a fool or a coxcomb.

It is worse to apprehend than to suffer.

The Opera is obviously the first draft of a fine spectacle; it suggests the idea of one.

There are some extraordinary fathers, who seem, during the whole course of their lives, to be giving their children reasons for being consoled at their death.