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.

The person who has lived the most is not the one with the most years but the one with the richest experiences.

Christ preaches only servitude and dependence... True Christians are made to be slaves.

A feeble body weakens the mind.

Equality, because without it there can be no liberty.

No man has any natural authority over his fellow men.

I undertake the same project as Montaigne, but with an aim contrary to his own: for he wrote his Essays only for others, and I write my reveries only for myself.