Being brilliant is no great feat if you respect nothing.

I could never have known so well how paltry men are, and how little they care for really high aims, if I had not tested them by my scientific researches. Thus I saw that most men only care for science so far as they get a living by it, and that they worship even error when it affords them a subsistence.

The world is for thousands a freak show; the images flicker past and vanish; the impressions remain flat and unconnected in the soul. Thus they are easily led by the opinions of others, are content to let their impressions be shuffled and rearranged and evaluated differently.

What dazzles, for the moment spends its spirit; Whats genuine, shall posterity inherit.

Of all thieves, fools are the worst; they rob you of time and temper.

Men show their character in nothing more clearly than what they think laughable.

The loss of a much-prized treasure is only half felt when we have not regarded its tenure as secure.