Does not the whole economy of the Gospel rest on the fact that the only Son of God [...] showed himself clothed in human nature, and by his passion and his death paid the ransom for our sins [...]?
1661-1676
I prefer to discover a single new etiology than to obtain the crown of the king of Persia!
1841
Males, by their particular nature, should generally live longer than females; and the cause is that the [male] animal is naturally warmer than the female.
c. 350 BC
I can no longer conceal my sorrow, which shame makes all the more acute: it must burst forth.
c. 54 AD
Terracotta horse and rider
ca. 750–600 BCE
[A God] who would transform himself into a world [...] to endure misery, suffering, and death, without measure or end, in the form of countless millions of living beings [...].
1851
Laziness is almost always victorious over the love of truth.
1674-1675
Knowledge and languages always advance together; [...] the balance is constantly re-established between the idea and the sign.
1801
[...] I know that when I am dead this country will be turned upside down.
1512-1527
Saint Stephen (with the Angel of the Annunciation)
1389
Everything one asks for properly, one gives to oneself; and [...] one increases one's strength by recognizing one's weakness.
1761
Most of those who rage furiously against the domestic vices of an illustrious man prove less their love for the public good than their envy of his talents.
1758
Those who allow themselves to be persecuted for vain disputes [...] seem unwise to me; those who persecute seem to me to be monsters.
1767
We find ourselves back on the humble ground of experience and common sense. Happy are we if we regard it as our assigned place, [...] which we can never abandon with impunity.
1766
Limestone statue of a woman
early 6th century BCE
The right to monopolize grain was therefore sold, in a way, to the highest and last bidder.
1776
The ruin of [Fan] did not take my life. It is not certain that the prosperity of [Tch'ou] will preserve yours.
4th century BC
The anger [...] was confined to words, insults, curses, the ordinary vengeance of old men.
100-120 AD
From the moment men form a society, however rudimentary it may be, there are necessarily rules that govern their relations and, consequently, a morality [...].
1893
Self-Portrait
1776
We say of a man passing in the street that he is ill-made. Yes, according to our poor rules; but according to nature, it is another matter.
1766
It is agreed that [the soul] has a true and perfect unity and a true self, and that it communicates in some way this unity [...] to the whole composed of the soul and the body which is called man.
1686
An intimate society between people who are radically different from each other is a pure reverie. Difference may attract, but it is resemblance that retains.
1869
Whatever has lasted a long time seems sacred to men; they would think themselves guilty if they cast their reckless gaze upon things sealed with the stamp of antiquity.
1766
Portrait of a Woman, Said to Be Marie de Mautesson
ca. 1830
The decisive test of a heroic heart is when it is free to take revenge on an enemy at will.
1636
Nothing is so contrary to the well-being and liberty of men as great empires.
1835-1840
Where there is charity, what can we lack? But if charity does not exist, what compensation can remain for us?
1263-1264
God is love, and He is an object of love: the whole contribution of mysticism is there.
1932
Limestone head of a bearded male with a plain headdress
2nd quarter of the 6th century BCE
Wisdom knows how to effortlessly bring together all conditions and all ages [...].
1746
No matter, we now have a Tristan and Iseut.
1926
[Lawmakers], after they have made [the laws] and separated, are themselves subject to them; which is a [...] strong motive to make them create laws only for the public good.
1690
God is dead! God remains dead! And we have killed him!
1882
Two Young Peasant Women
1891–92
[Antisthenes] founded the Cynic sect, which was absorbed into that of the Stoics.
45 BC
Among those in whom the supernatural part of themselves is not awakened, the atheists are right and the believers are wrong.
1947
It is always the astronomer who thinks he sees on the moon the mouse that is in his telescope.
1623
Science frees the mind, expands the senses and the heart; theology compresses and crushes them.
1842-1845
Saints Michael and Francis
ca. 1505–9
[...] a soul that seeks divine felicity in the world of the senses is like Narcissus plunging into the abyss to embrace a shadow.
c. 253-270 AD
It would be necessary for all men to be perfectly wise, so that, knowing what they ought to do, one could be assured of what they will do.
1643-1649
If you cannot show me one fully formed, show me one who is in the process of becoming, one who is inclined toward this way of being.
c. 108 AD
There is nothing which is, in itself, beautiful or ugly, worthy of love or hatred [...] these different qualifications depend solely on the sentiments and affections of each man [...].
1742
The Meditation on the Passion
ca. 1490
There are always some, better born than others, who feel the weight of the yoke and cannot restrain themselves from shaking it off; who never become accustomed to subjection.
c. 1552-1553
The lengthiness and difficulties of ordinary methods [...] made me think of some quicker and easier aid.
1642-1645
I am sure that the future [...] will bear me this testimony, that I have never wronged anyone, nor ever made anyone more vicious.
4th century BC
I become imbued with a disease to which I give my particular attention, and I catch its seed.
1580
The Flight into Egypt
1470s