That man is truly free who desires what he is able to perform, and does what he desires.

There is no evildoer who could not be made good for something.

I would rather be a man of paradoxes than a man of prejudices.

I long remained a child, and I am still one in many respects.

To live is not to breathe but to act. It is to make use of our organs, our senses, our faculties, of all the parts of ourselves which give us the sentiment of our existence. The man who has lived the most is not he who has counted the most years but he who has most felt life.

Had I no other proof of the immortality of the soul than the oppression of the just and the triumph of the wicked in this world, this alone would prevent my having the least doubt of it. So shocking a discord amidst a general harmony of things would make me naturally look for a cause; I should say to myself we do not cease to exist with this life; everything reassumes its order after death.

If there were a people consisting of gods, they would be governed democratically. So perfect a government is not suitable to men.