A nation which thinks that it is belief in God and not good law which makes people honest does not seem to me very advanced.

Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.

We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us, but we sip only little by little at a truth we find bitter.

All things must be examined, debated, investigated without exception and without regard for anyone's feelings.

Those who fear the facts will forever try to discredit the fact-finders.

Disturbances in society are never more fearful than when those who are stirring up the trouble can use the pretext of religion to mask their true designs.

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

Skepticism is the first step on the road to philosophy.

Oh! how near are genius and madness! Men imprison them and chain them, or raise statues to them.

In general, children, like men, and men, like children, prefer entertainment to education.

Although a man may wear fine clothing, if he lives peacefully; and is good, self-possessed, has faith and is pure; and if he does not hurt any living being, he is a holy man.

(speaking of Ann Radcliffe) A work of art worthy of the name is one which gives us back the freshness of the emotions of childhood.

Healing comes through God's work, and God deals differently with us when we deal differently with him.

To live your life in the fear of losing it is to lose the point of life.

I like to cook things very slowly.

When a thing bores you, do not do it.

Objectives are not commands; they are commitments.

Now at 47, 48 I am expected to do ten times better work that I did when I was 24.

Different areas present us with possibilities to test different theories.

I like to talk on TV about those things that aren't worth writing about.