A man should swallow a toad every morning to be sure of not meeting with anything more revolting in the day ahead.

Pleasure can be supported by an illusion; but happiness rests upon truth.

Only the history of free peoples is worth our attention; the history of men under a despotism is merely a collection of anecdotes.

There are two things that one must get used to or one will find life unendurable: the damages of time and injustices of men.

If it were not for the government, we should have nothing to laugh at in France.

We justly consider women to be weaker than ourselves, and yet we are governed by them.

It's a question of prudence. Nobody has a high opinion of fishwives but who would dare offend them while walking through the fish market.