A person of intellect without energy added to it, is a failure.

Society ... is nothing more than the war of a thousand petty opposed interests, an eternal strife of all the vanities, which, turn in turn wounded and humiliated one by the other, intercross, come into collision, and on the morrow expiate the triumph of the eve in the bitterness of defeat. To live alone, to remain unjostled in this miserable struggle, where for a moment one draws the eyes of the spectators, to be crushed a moment later -- this is what is called being a nonentity, having no existence. Poor humanity!

The best philosophical attitude to adopt towards the world is a union of the sarcasm of gaiety with the indulgence of contempt.

Whatever evil a man may think of women, there is no woman but thinks more.

Hope is but a charlatan that ceases not to deceive us. For myself happiness only began when I had lost it.

The philosopher who would fain extinguish his passions resembles the chemist who would like to let his furnace go out.

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