I bow before the authority of special men because it is imposed upon me by my own reason.

All religions are cruel, all founded on blood; for all rest principally on the idea of sacrifice - that is, on the perpetual immolation of humanity to the insatiable vengeance of divinity.

Where the state begins, individual liberty ceases, and vice versa.

Religion is collective insanity.

The urge to destroy is a creative urge.

The organization of society is always and everywhere the unique cause of the crimes committed by individuals.

Freedom, morality, and the human dignity of the individual consists precisely in this; that he does good not because he is forced to do so, but because he freely conceives it, wants it, and loves it.