The affairs of the world are no more than so much trickery, and a man who toils for money or honour or whatever else in deference to the wishes of others, rather than because his own desire or needs lead him to do so, will always be a fool.

A man may twist as he pleases, and do what he pleases, but he inevitably comes back to the track to which nature has destined him.

In happy ignorance, I sighed for a world I did not know, where I hoped to find every pleasure and enjoyment which my heart could desire; and now, on my return from that wide world... how many disappointed hopes and unsuccessful plans have I brought back!

At the end of life thoughts hitherto impossible come to the collected mind, like good spirits which let themselves down from the shining heights of the past.

There is no past we can bring back by longing for it. There is only an eternal now that builds and creates out of the past something new and better.

True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.

Reason can never be popular. Passions and feelings may become popular, but reason will always remain the sole property of a few eminent individuals.