These ideas, these categories, are as little eternal as the relations they express. They are historical and transitory products.
1847
Gravity, which entirely governs the movements of matter on earth, is the image of the carnal attachment that governs the tendencies of our soul.
1962
He accustomed his soldiers above all to obey simply, without meddling in controlling or discussing their captain's plans...
1580
Man is visibly made for thinking; that is all his dignity and all his merit.
1670
Terracotta statuette of a woman
late 4th–early 3rd century BCE
Of Mixtion where there is total penetration.
c. 253-270 AD
One is naturally inclined to detest what one fears.
c. 72-126 AD
As soon as he was grown, the first thing he did was to go [...] to court a daughter of one of his masters, whom he married.
1764
Men must be either pampered or crushed, because they can get revenge for small injuries, but not for grievous ones.
1855
Buckle
3900 BCE - 100 CE
God, this purely ideal, purely rational entity, does not exist outside of our idea, outside of our reason.
1841
Revolutions arise from inequality of honors just as much as from inequality of fortunes.
c. 350 BCE
My foolish ambition sought fortune only through adventures: and, seeing no woman in all of this, this way of succeeding seemed slow, painful, and sad to me.
1782-1789
[...] I will confess that they seem to me to speak a language as absurd as if one were to say that a circle has taken on the nature of a square.
1661-1676
Bronze statuette of Minerva
2nd century CE
[...] if there is no such evidence, this teaching is called persuasion; it produces in the listener only that which is solely in the opinion of the speaker.
1772
'But I wanted to live and experience no discomfort!' Such a cowardly wish is not worthy of a man.
63-64 AD
The necessary being and the being by its essence are but one and the same thing.
Late 17th - early 18th century
It is the mark of a wise man to anticipate these declines [...] without waiting for his turn to experience them abruptly.
1636
Terracotta statuette of an actor
late 5th–early 4th century BCE
Love breathes [...] a dormant and covered fire that winter had concealed within our veins.
1546/1563
If you have learned [the principles], you can be ready for any name you are asked.
c. 108 AD
The ideas of relation, such as that of 'father', are often clearer and more distinct than the ideas of the substances to which they belong, such as that of 'man'.
1689
Which is not to waste time, but to use it well.
1643-1649
Statuette of a man ?
3rd–1st century BCE
We live for the external world rather than for ourselves; we speak rather than we think; we 'are acted' rather than we act ourselves.
1889
Either he is healthy, or he is sick; but he is not healthy, therefore he is sick.
c. 1270
Helvétius had corrected and perfected his work; many notes were removed or merged into the text; entire chapters were redone or deleted.
1758
No one is more prone to mistakes than those who act only upon reflection.
1747
Marble portrait of Livia
ca. 14–37 CE
I ask [...] that they be content with our money and our property, without wanting our blood and our lives.
79 BC
Any man who has managed to deeply understand human nature can always be the architect of his own fortune, and is born to command.
1609
The artistic sense of the contemporary public? It is synonymous with perfect obedience. I much prefer complete ignorance, the kind that leaves natural sensitivity or insensitivity intact.
1926
A source of initiative is thus opened, which did not exist until then. There is now someone who can produce something new and even [...] depart from collective customs. The balance is broken.
1893
Portrait of a Man, possibly Matteo di Sebastiano di Bernardino Gozzadini
1494(?)
We call habit the permanent disposition, the way of being, that arises from frequent repetition: this is the true meaning of the word habit.
1801
The author and the publisher are two players in a game: if the latter pays as he wishes, on the other hand he does not know what he is buying.
1741-1784
The union of the senses increases the number of ways of being: the chain of ideas becomes more extensive and varied.
1754
[...] I consider justice grounded on utility to be the most important, the most sacred part of morality.
1861
Limestone inscribed base
3900 BCE - 100 CE
I have, from an early age, distrusted all the decisions of philosophers: & I have always felt more inclined to dispute their dogmas than to embrace them.
1742
Moderate exercises promote health.
End of the 4th century BC
There are two ways of looking at beings; either as distinct entities, or as all being one in the great whole.
4th century BC
A man who does not himself believe what he says to another [...] has even less value than a mere thing.
1797-1798
Portrait of a Young Boy
1591
The industrial class has a greater need to be regulated, supervised, and restrained than other classes, and it is natural that the powers of government should grow with it.
1835-1840
The gait of one's sentences indicates if the author is tired.
1879
Financial embarrassment = bankruptcy.
1830-1831
We must respect antiquity, they say. [...] We fail to consider that Aristotle, Plato, and Epicurus were men like us [...] and that in our time, the world is older [...] and ought to be more enlightened.
1674-1675
Statuette of a cock, 2?
7000 BCE - 30 BCE