Law in general is human reason, inasmuch as it governs all the inhabitants of the earth: the political and civil laws of each nation ought to be only the particular cases in which human reason is applied.

Slavery, properly so called, is the establishment of a right which gives to one man such a power over another as renders him absolute master of his life and fortune.

Happy the people whose annals are tiresome.

The success of most things depends upon knowing how long it will take to succeed.

Although born in a prosperous realm, we did not believe that its boundaries should limit our knowledge, and that the lore of the East should alone enlighten us.

People here argue about religion interminably, but it appears that they are competing at the same time to see who can be the least devout.

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

Man, as a physical being, is like other bodies governed by invariable laws.

There should be weeping at a man's birth, not at his death.

Life was given to me as a favor, so I may abandon it when it is one no longer.

Raillery is a mode of speaking in favor of one's wit at the expense of one's better nature.

But constant experience shows us that every man invested with power is apt to abuse it, and to carry his authority as far as it will go.

What orators lack in depth they make up for in length.

The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy.

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 less men think, the more they talk.

In the infancy of societies, the chiefs of state shape its institutions; later the institutions shape the chiefs of state.

If I knew of something that could serve my nation but would ruin another, I would not propose it to my prince, for I am first a man and only then a Frenchman... because I am necessarily a man, and only accidentally am I French.