It is pure illusion to think that an opinion which passes down from century to century, from generation to generation, may not be entirely false.

In matters of religion, it is very easy to deceive a man and very hard to undeceive him.

No nations are more warlike than those which profess Christianity.

There was no other God, religion, or lawful magistracy, than conscience, which teaches all men the precepts of Justice, to do no injury, to live honestly, and give everyone his due.

The furnace of affliction refines us from earthly drossiness, and softens us for the impression of God's own stamp.

I mention this only to shew that the citations of the most judicious authors frequently deceive us, and consequently that prudence obliges us to examine quotations, by whomsoever alleged.

The movement of comets is part of the ordinary works of nature which, without regard to the happiness or misery of mankind, are transported from one part of the heavens to another by virtue of the general laws of motion.