Is it not astonishing that the love of repose keeps us in continual agitation?

To believe with certainty, we must begin with doubting.

Can princes born in palaces be sensible of the misery of those who dwell in cottages?

The instability of our tastes is the occasion of the irregularity of our lives.

Reason shows us our duty; he who can make us love our duty is more powerful than reason itself.

Conscience warns us as a friend before it punishes us as a judge.

A well-read fool is the most pestilent of blockheads; his learning is a flail which he knows not how to handle, and with which he breaks his neighbor's shins as well as his own. Keep a fellow of this description at arm's length, as you value the integrity of your bones.