It is clear that the individual who persecutes a man, his brother, because he is not of the same opinion, is a monster.

The necessity of saying something, the embarrassment produced by the consciousness of having nothing to say, and the desire to exhibit ability, are three things sufficient to render even a great man ridiculous.

All sects are different, because they come from men; morality is everywhere the same, because it comes from God.

Those who believe absurdities will commit atrocities.

You can never correct your work well until you have forgotten it.

All the ancient histories, as one of our wits say, are just fables that have been agreed upon

I have wanted to kill myself a hundred times, but somehow I am still in love with life. This ridiculous weakness is perhaps one of our more stupid melancholy propensities, for is there anything more stupid than to be eager to go on carrying a burden which one would gladly throw away, to loathe one’s very being and yet to hold it fast, to fondle the snake that devours us until it has eaten our hearts away?