The penalty of death is the only one that makes an injustice absolutely irreparable; from which it follows that the existence of the death penalty implies that one is exposed to committing an irreparable injustice; from which it follows that it is unjust to establish it. This reasoning appears to us to have the force of a demonstration.
Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de CondorcetI hope to see the bringing together of all the best educated people of the earth into a worldwide Congress of Scientists.
Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de CondorcetOne wonders why there are so many women who follow Robespierre to his home, to the Jacobins, to the Cordeliers and to the Convention. It is because the French Revolution is a religion and Robespierre is one of its sects. He is a priest with his flock... Robespierre preaches, Robespierre censures, he is furious, serious, melancholic and exalted with passion. He thunders against the rich and the great. He lives on little and has no physical needs. He has only one mission: to talk. And he talks all the time.
Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de CondorcetPeople still retain the errors of their childhood, their nation, and their age, long after they have accepted the truths needed to refute them.
Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de CondorcetUnder the freest constitution ignorant people are still slaves.
Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de Condorcet