We do not know either unalloyed happiness or unmitigated misfortune. Everything in this world is a tangled yarn; we taste nothing in its purity; we do not remain two moments in the same state. Our affections as well as bodies, are in a perpetual flux.

Everything is good as it comes from the hands of the Maker of the world, but degenerates once it gets into the hands of man

The animals you eat are not those who devour others; you do not eat the carnivorous beasts, you take them as your pattern. You only hunger for the sweet and gentle creatures which harm no one, which follow you, serve you, and are devoured by you as the reward of their service.

To renounce liberty is to renounce being a man, to surrender the rights of humanity and even its duties.

If there were a nation of Gods, it would govern itself democratically. A government so perfect is not suited to men.

The mechanism she employs is much more powerful than ours, for all her levers move the human heart.

At length I recollected the thoughtless saying of a great princess, who, on being informed that the country people had no bread, replied, "Let them eat cake".