[It was agreed...] that he would be exposed to all the inconveniences, and to all the evils to which men are subject.
1518-1527
It is not peace, but war, schism, that is to the taste of most.
1623
One must save the sharpness and brilliance of the mind for subjects that deserve it, just as the lion reserves its efforts for dangers worthy of it.
1636
Paganism sacrificed bodies, whereas Christianity sacrifices souls.
1842-1845
Limestone finial of a funerary stele
late 5th or early 4th century BCE
Pascal said that the 'geometric spirit' was not enough: the philosopher must add to it the 'spirit of finesse'.
1915
He who has not gotten to the bottom of things, however ancient he may be, is not in my eyes an authority [...].
4th century BC
It would be good to have private individuals capable of bearing the necessary costs. For a powerful lord would make himself the sole master of the affair, once he saw its success.
1675
Science [appears] as uniformly simple, clear, and easy, however far it may extend.
17th century
Pilate Washing His Hands
probably 1660s
The remedy of the common sort is not to think about it. But from what brutal stupidity can such a coarse blindness come?
1580
For the Holy Spirit, to hear is to know, and to know is to be.
1263-1264
We get angry more readily with friends than with strangers, because we feel we are more entitled to receive good from them than not.
329-323 BC
[...] the very seed of good can be cultivated and nurtured, so that in time it may be propagated and perpetuate itself.
1777
Limestone inscribed block
3900 BCE - 100 CE
Such is the blessed condition of the intelligible world that in doing nothing it does great things, and in remaining within itself it produces important works.
c. 253-270 AD
[...] our perceptions are everything to us, and [...] they alone are for us the true real things.
1805
When our [thing] is thus regulated and reformed, it will seem entirely new [...]. The abuses drove them away, and the reformation would call them back.
c. 1552-1553
It is only the resurrection [of Jesus Christ] that I interpret in an allegorical sense.
1661-1676
Marble statue head of a youth
1st or 2nd century CE
The love of glory and reputation is another spring of our machine, which gives much force to the moral sentiment; it is the passion of great souls.
1751
He who is uprooted uproots. He who is rooted does not uproot.
1943
It seems that [some] come to affairs already fully formed in virtue by the laws and customs of their country; whereas [others] form themselves.
100-120 AD
Only intuitions are clear, not concepts. The latter can at most be intelligible.
1819
The Martyrdom of Saint Barbara
ca. 1510
[...] I consider justice grounded on utility to be the most important, the most sacred part of morality.
1861
If repressive law loses ground, restitutive law, which did not exist at all at the origin, is only growing.
1893
What you have not told me, I know how to tell myself.
Before January 1765
All good maxims are in the world, [...] one only has to apply them; but that is very difficult.
1746
Limestone funerary stele of a boy
3900 BCE - 100 CE
I do not hinder myself.
c. 108 AD
[The ill affections of the soul,] one expels them more easily than one directs them.
63-64 AD
The clergy are commonly reproached for their harshness; in them it is an effect of the most sublime virtue; a good Christian must be perfectly insensitive.
1768
Upon this principle is founded the right of war and peace, leagues and alliances, and all the transactions, with all communities and states.
1690
The Crucifixion
ca. 1325–30
The rule, my friend; the rule is the queen of the world.
1775-1784
Punctuation [...] is highly variable.
1643-1662
Men are not and never will be equal, but they will want to become so and will not believe they have succeeded until they have eliminated all social superiorities.
1926
More fatal to people on fixed incomes or wages, it [the rise in prices] permanently took away a part of their subsistence [...].
1776
Christ Healing the Sick
1742
Whenever one consents to likelihoods, one certainly puts oneself in danger of being mistaken, and is indeed almost always mistaken [...].
1674-1675
The sanctity of this learned man dazzled me as much as the beauty of his divine style. [...] he touched my heart, and I find myself more virtuous for it.
45 BC
In every struggle, he who takes up the gauntlet risks being beaten; but is that a sufficient reason to declare oneself defeated and submit to the yoke without drawing the sword?
1851-1852
War appears to be the natural state of man. [...] But it must be admitted that very few societies have been guilty of these public assassinations called proscriptions.
1766
The Sofa
ca. 1894–96
A death is considered [...] the easiest, one that inconveniences friends the least and causes them the most regret for the deceased.
4th century BC
When virtue has slept, it will rise fresher.
1878
The masters, not knowing how to make [the disciples] reason, have an interest in declaring them incapable of it.
1772
A singular punishment, it must be admitted, which the convict fears to escape.
1864-1866
Limestone inscribed base
3900 BCE - 100 CE