Except our own thoughts, there is nothing absolutely in our power.
To live without philosophizing is in truth the same as keeping the eyes closed without attempting to open them.
La lecture de tous les bons livres est comme une conversation avec les plus honnêtes gens des siècles passés.
The reading of all good books is like conversation with the finest men of past centuries.
Even if all knowledge could be found in books, where it is mixed in with so many useless things and confusingly heaped in such large volumes, it would take longer to read those books than we have to live in this life and more effort to select the useful things than to find them oneself
Dubium sapientiae initium (Doubt is the origin of wisdom).
