Without the support from religion--remember, we talked about it--no father, using only his own resources, would be able to bring up a child.

The feeling of patriotism - It is an immoral feeling because, instead of confessing himself a son of God . . . or even a free man guided by his own reason, each man under the influence of patriotism confesses himself the son of his fatherland and the slave of his government, and commits actions contrary to his reason and conscience.

In a writer there must always be two people - the writer and the critic.

Effort is not a means to lead us to happiness. Effort itself is happiness

It is terrible when people do not know God, but it is worse when people identify as God what is not God.

He looked at her as a man looks at a faded flower he has gathered, with difficulty recognizing in it the beauty for which he picked and ruined it. And in spite of this he felt that then, when his love was stronger, he could, if he had greatly wished it, have torn that love out of his heart; but now when as at that moment it seemed to him he felt no love for her, he knew that what bound him to her could not be broken.

Man must not check his reason by tradition, but, contrariwise, must check tradition by reason.