It is commonly supposed that the art of pleasing is a wonderful aid in the pursuit of fortune; but the art of being bored is infinitely more successful.

Almost every desire a poor man has is a punishable offence.

There are various sorts of curiosity; one is from interest, which makes us desire to know that which may be useful to us; and the other, from pride which comes from the wish to know...

I have lived eighty years of life and know nothing for it, but to be resigned and tell myself that flies are born to be eaten by spiders and man to be devoured by sorrow.

Froth at the top, dregs at bottom, but the middle excellent.

The secret of being tiresome is in telling everything.

Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.

The Holy Roman Empire is neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire.

A religious life is a struggle and not a hymn.

Philosophy, like medicine, has plenty of drugs, few good remedies, and hardly any specific cures.

Representation of the world, like the world itself, is the work of men; they describe it from their own point of view, which they confuse with the absolute truth.

Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.

The art of government is to make two-thirds of a nation pay all it possibly can pay for the benefit of the other third.

I am very fond of truth, but not at all of martyrdom.

I have only ever made one prayer to God, a very short one: O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous. And God granted it.

When he to whom one speaks does not understand, and he who speaks himself does not understand, that is metaphysics.

Love is the whole history of a woman’s life, it is but an episode in a man’s.

Of all days, the day on which one has not laughed is the one most surely wasted.

To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered.

All styles are good except the tiresome kind.

In this country it is a good thing to kill an admiral from time to time to encourage the others.

One great use of words is to hide our thoughts.

Preoccupation with money is the great test of small natures, but only a small test of great ones.

We’ve no use for intellectuals in this outfit. What we need is chimpanzees. Let me give you a word of advice: never say a word to us about being intelligent. We will think for you,...

One is a socialist because one used to be one, no longer going to demonstrations, attending meetings, sending in one’s dues, in short, without paying.

God is a comedian, playing to an audience too afraid to laugh.

Very learned women are to be found, in the same manner as female warriors; but they are seldom or ever inventors.

The infinitely little have a pride infinitely great.

In matters of the heart, nothing is true except the improbable.

There are certain times when public opinion is the worst of all opinions.

Society, being codified by man, decrees that woman is inferior; she can do away with this inferiority only by destroying the male’s superiority.

No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.

Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices.

We are rarely proud when we are alone.

If God created us in his own image, we have more than reciprocated.

Divorce is probably of nearly the same date as marriage. I believe, however, that marriage is some weeks the more ancient.

Search for the truth is the noblest occupation of man; its publication is a duty.

Man may aspire to virtue, but he cannot reasonably aspire to truth.