Music, of all the liberal arts, has the greatest influence over the passions, and it is that to which the legislator ought to give the greatest encouragement.

Never depend on the multitude, full of instability and whims; always take precautions against it.

Independence, like honor, is a rocky island, without a beach.

Those who failed to oppose me, who readily agreed with me and accepted all my views, were those who did me the most injury.

A book in which there were no lies would be a curiosity.

Music, of all the liberal arts, has the greatest influence over the passions, and it is that to which the legislator ought to give the greatest encouragement.

Society cannot exist without inequality of fortunes and the inequality of fortunes could not subsist without religion. Whenever a half-starved person is near another who is glutted, it is impossible to reconcile the difference if there is not an authority who tells him to.