But he will fall in his turn, that villain, whoever he may be, who takes pleasure in being an executioner, and who resorts to lies to conceal his crimes.
3rd or 4th century AD
Certain conditions are inherent to those who appear happy [...], but what makes the difference is the 'how'.
329-323 BC
All instincts that do not discharge themselves outwardly turn inward — this is what I call the internalization of man: thus it was that man first developed what was later called his 'soul'.
1887
All pleasure and all pain are born in the soul.
c. 360 BC
The Smoker
ca. 1623–25
To demand that men should constantly use words in the same sense [...] would be to imagine that all men should have the same notions, and speak only of things of which they have clear and distinct ideas.
1689
A moral truth [...] cannot be revisited and repeated too many times, because the one who must apply it has never understood it enough.
c. 108 AD
[...] he had long cherished paganism in his heart; but because his whole army was of Christians, he dared not reveal it.
1580
A lovely custom [...] dictates that a dress be named after the woman who, by her bearing, charm, and distinction, has earned it fame and prestige in the world.
1926
Standing male figurine
ca. 750–600 BCE
Martyrs prove nothing, except the force of enthusiasm, blindness, and obstinacy that superstition can produce, and the cruel madness of all those who persecute their fellow men for religious opinions.
1766
I resolved to leave this world to their disputes, and to speak only of what would happen in a new one, if God were now to create somewhere [...] enough matter to compose it.
1637
In the meantime, I cannot help but say that the author reasons in a most extraordinary manner, by comparing gravitation, which is a phenomenon or an actual fact, with the declination of atoms, according to the doctrine of Epicurus.
1715-1716
It is an extreme misfortune to be subject to a master of whom one can never be sure that he will be good, since it is always in his power to be evil when he pleases.
c. 1552-1553
Portrait of a Man
1827
[...] they turn their faith, though it be true, into superstition.
1661-1676
I must be an atheist with the part of myself that is not made for God.
1947
One of the characteristics of man is that his innate predispositions are very general and very vague.
1922
While [superstitions] wage the most furious war against each other, we happily escape into the dark but tranquil regions of philosophy.
1757
Sebastián Martínez y Pérez (1747–1800)
1792
[...] our imagination nonetheless pursues its work, and never tires of forming new plans, until death [...] suddenly puts an end to the whole game.
1760
Another sign of a prosperity nearing its end is its long duration: fortune grows old [...] with the years, as we do.
1636
It is movement in space that creates time in human consciousness. Without movement, no time.
1890
You are right; but your reason drives me to despair and your madness would bring me so much pleasure.
1741-1784
Saint George
1472
Even in a free country, not all citizens enjoy the same fortune. The concentration of wealth happens more slowly there; but eventually, it happens.
1772
As long as a Sage's doctrine has not been refuted, it is not over for him. [...] My doctrine is irrefutable, and I will not deviate from it for any persecution.
4th century BC
When he had dined, he believed his people to be happy.
1764
There are famous men, and there are those who deserve to be.
1851
Interior of a Kitchen
ca. 1642–44
The contradiction of Catholicism with human nature was the intimate foundation of the Reformation.
1842-1845
We must not hold Fortune alone responsible for the misfortunes of men; [...] we must look for the part played in them by the disorders of the heart and of reason.
100-120 AD
The intellect is what is principal in man, and it uses all the powers of the soul and all the members of the body as its instruments.
1270
[...] the poor and the rich equally unhappy with their station, and consequently equally unjust and blind, for they envy one another, and believe each other to be happy.
1746
Bronze tweezers
ca. 2900–1050 BCE
The sight of this little monstrosity displeased me to the highest degree [...] from the just apprehension that false copies [...] might ruin its esteem from its very birth.
1642-1645
The wife is actually the slave of her husband, no less, within the limits of legal obligation, than are slaves properly so called.
1869
Nothing is ever so desperate that some door to hope does not remain open, however weak or illusory it may be.
1518
Sensation has for its general condition that the universal animal be sympathetic to itself; without this, how could one thing partake in the power of another thing from which it is very distant?
c. 253-270 AD
George Moore (1852–1933)
1879
Nowhere do citizens appear smaller than in a democratic nation. Nowhere does the nation itself seem greater...
1835-1840
All our knowledge is but judgments made.
1805
Whenever one consents to likelihoods, one certainly puts oneself in danger of being mistaken, and is indeed almost always mistaken [...].
1674-1675
We claim only the role of a guide, which is certainly not to aim for great authority, and which implies more good fortune than talent and superiority.
1620
The Rest on the Flight into Egypt
1530
[Value] can, in abundance, diminish to the point of becoming null. A superabundant good will be without value, whenever no use can be made of it.
1776
One does not see federative leagues established other than through revolutions [...]. It might perhaps do more harm all at once than it would prevent for centuries.
1762
He leaves the second volume [...] advanced enough to be published.
March 17, 1883
I exhort the youth to read [the great] works well [...]. This will be time better spent than reading these miserable booklets, where one only persists in foolish disputes.
45 BC
Bronze statuette of a votary
ca. 1600 BCE or later