“If we only wanted to be happy, it would be easy; but we want to be happier than other people, and that is almost always difficult, since we think them happier than they are.”

The spirit of commerce… renders every man willing to live on his own property…& prevents the growth of luxury.

Society is the union of men and not the men themselves.

What unhappy beings men are! They constantly waver between false hopes and silly fears, and instead of relying on reason they create monsters to frighten themselves with, and phantoms which lead them astray.

With truths of a certain kind, it is not enough to make them appear convincing: one must also make them felt. Of such kind are moral truths.

In the state of nature… all men are born equal, but they cannot continue in this equality. Society makes them lose it, and they recover it only by the protection of the law.

Men should be bewailed at their birth, and not at their death.

An author is a fool who, not content with boring those he lives with, insists on boring future generations.

Europe is a state with several provinces

One more organ or one less in our body would give us a different intelligence. In fact, all the established laws as to why our body is a certain way would be different if our body were not that way.

As men are affected in all ages by the same passions, the occasions which bring about great changes are different, but the causes are always the same.

Each citizen contributes to the revenues of the State a portion of his property in order that his tenure of the rest may be secure.

A nation may lose its liberties in a day and not miss them in a century.

Liberty is the right to do what the law permits.

Love of reading enables a man to exchange the weary hours, which come to every one, for hours of delight.

Study has been for me the sovereign remedy against all the disappointments of life. I have never known any trouble that an hour’s reading would not dissipate.

Countries are not cultivated in proportion to their fertility, but to their liberty.

Since these early days, I have seen and have experienced many types of discrimination and all of them were rooted in the fear of people that were different than the majority.

The world is full of people who have never, since childhood, met an open doorway with an open mind.

I do not need any writing, since I transmit teaching beyond words and ideas.

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, Jesus himeself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil.

Everything has been such a whirlwind ever since I stepped foot in the league and everything has been like a dream, so I’m just blessed to be in this position.

Since the time of the ancient Greeks a democracy has depended on its philosophers and creative artists. It can only flourish by continuous probing, prodding, and questioning of the social conditions under which man exists and tries to better himself.

I started the Pies Descalzos foundation in Colombia when I was 18, and since then I have been very involved in the crusade for education.

The great question is, can war be outlawed from the world? If so, it would mark the greatest advance in civilization since the Sermon on the Mount.