I refuse the oration of all churches. I ask a prayer of all souls. I believe in God.

What is fright by night is curiosity by day.

I believe in religion against the religious; in the pitifulness of orisons, and in the sublimity of prayer.

Every good quality runs into a defect; economy borders on avarice, the generous are not far from the prodigal, the brave man is close to the bully; he who is very pious is slightly sanctimonious; there are just as many vices to virtue as there are holes in the mantle of Diogenes.

It seemed to be a necessary ritual that he should prepare himself for sleep by meditating under the solemnity of the night sky... a mysterious transaction between the infinity of the soul and the infinity of the universe.

If you want to civilize a man, begin with his grandmother.

The animal is ignorant of the fact that he knows. The man is aware of the fact that he is ignorant.