Lycurgus, Numa, Moses, Jesus Christ, Mohammed, all these great rogues, all these great thought-tyrants, knew how to associate the divinities they fabricated with their own boundless ambition.

Happiness lies only in that which excites, and the only thing that excites is crime.

What we are doing here is only the image of what we would like to do.

Certain souls seem hard because they are capable of strong feelings, and they sometimes go to rather extreme lengths; their apparent unconcern and cruelty are but ways, known only to themselves, of feeling more strongly than others.

To judge from the notions expounded by theologians, one must conclude that God created most men simply with a view to crowding hell.

It is not my mode of thought that has caused my misfortunes, but the mode of thought of others.

Every principle is a judgment, every judgment the outcome of experience, and experience is only acquired by the exercise of the senses . . .