I hate books; they only teach us to talk about things we know nothing about.

Absolute silence leads to sadness. It is the image of death.

A man speaks of what he knows, a woman of what pleases her: the one requires knowledge, the other taste.

To make a man richer, give him more money of curb his desires.

I had been brought up in a church which decides everything and permits no doubts, so that having rejected one article of faith I was forced to reject the rest.

The science of government is only a science of combinations, of applications, and of exceptions, according to times, places and circumstances.

Once you teach people to say what they do not understand, it is easy enough to get them to say anything you like. v One could wish no easier death than that of Socrates, calmly discussing philosophy with his friends; one could fear nothing worse than that of Jesus, dying in torment, among the insults, the mockery, the curses of the whole nation. In the midst of these terrible sufferings, Jesus prays for his cruel murderers. Yes, if the life and death of Socrates are those of a philosopher, the life and death of Christ are those of a God.