I enter into discussion and argument with great freedom and ease, inasmuch as opinion finds me in a bad soil to penetrate and take deep root in. No propositions astonish me, no belief offends me, whatever contrast it offers to my own. There is no fancy so frivolous and so extravagant that it does not seem to me quite suitable to the production of the human mind.

The most universal quality is diversity.

The conduct of our lives is the true mirror of our doctrine.

A wise man sees as much as he ought, not as much as he can.

The most unhappy and frail creatures are men and yet they are the proudest.

The religion of my doctor or my lawyer cannot matter. That consideration has nothing in common with the functions of the friendship they owe me.

The most certain sign of wisdom is cheerfulness.