Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.
Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.
βLife is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.
It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.
The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing.
Better is the enemy of the good.
Often the prudent, far from making their destinies, succumb to them.
I advise you to go on living solely to enrage those who are paying your annuities. It is the only pleasure I have left.
Ask a toad what is beauty? ... a female with two great round eyes coming out of her little head, a large flat mouth, a yellow belly and a brown back.
The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us.
Is there anyone so wise as to learn by the experience of others?
Fear follows crime, and is its punishment.
Shun idleness. It is a rust that attaches itself to the most brilliant metals.
If there were no God, it would be necessary to invent him.
Pleasure is the object, duty and the goal of all rational creatures.
God is a circle whose centre is everywhere and circumference nowhere.
If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.
If God made us in his image, we have certainly returned the compliment.
The most beautiful of all emblems is that of God, whom Timaeus of Locris describes under the image of "A circle whose centre is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere."
The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.
