“Doctors are always working to preserve our health and cooks to destroy it, but the latter are the more often successful.”

We swallow with one gulp the lie that flatters us, and drink drop by drop the truth which is bitter to us.

Only the bad man is alone.

Give, but, if possible, spare the poor man the shame of begging.

Philosophy is as far separated from impiety as religion is from fanaticism.

Isn’t it better to have men being ungrateful than to miss a chance to do good?

I have not the hope of being immortal, because the desire of it has not given me that vanity.

Good music is very close to primitive language.

Anyone who takes it upon himself, on his private authority, to break a bad law, thereby authorizes everyone else to break the good ones.

Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.

I am wholly yours – you are everything to me; we will sustain each other in all the ills of life it may please fate to inflict upon us; you will soothe my troubles; I will comfort you in yours.

Justice is the first virtue of those who command, and stops the complaints of those who obey.

Scepticism is the first step toward truth.

Are we not madder than those first inhabitants of the plain of Sennar? We know that the distance separating the earth from the sky is infinite, and yet we do not stop building our tower.

I discuss with myself questions of politics, love, taste, or philosophy. I let my mind rove wantonly, give it free rein to followany idea, wise or mad that may present itself. My ideas are my harlots.

When one compares the talents one has with those of a Leibniz , one is tempted to throw away one’s books and go die quietly in the dark of some forgotten corner.

In order to shake a hypothesis, it is sometimes not necessary to do anything more than push it as far as it will go.

If the nation is not capable of preserving itself and reproducing, if it loses it vital bearings and ideals, then it doesn’t need foreign enemies – it will fall apart on its own.

You must see with eyes unclouded by hate. See the good in that which is evil, and the evil in that which is good. Pledge yourself to neither side, but vow instead to preserve the balance that exists between the two.

I love writing songs because I love preserving memories, like putting a picture frame around a feeling you once had.

A man who believes in freedom will do anything under the sun to acquire, or preserve his freedom.

Individuals entering into society, must give up a share of liberty to preserve the rest.

Each contact with a human being is so rare, so precious, one should preserve it.

Our labour preserves us from three great evils – weariness, vice, and want.

Diversification may preserve wealth, but concentration builds wealth.