“As soon as man enters into a state of society he loses the sense of his weakness; equality ceases, and then commences the state of war.”

“Society is the union of men and not the men themselves.”

“Men, who are rogues individually, are in the mass very honorable people.”

“The deterioration of a government begins almost always by the decay of its principles.”

“There are three species of government: republican, monarchical, and despotic.”

“When the body of the people is possessed of the supreme power, it is called a democracy.”

“Power ought to serve as a check to power.”

“People here argue about religion interminably, but it appears that they are competing at the same time to see who can be the least devout.”

“Religious wars are not caused by the fact that there is more than one religion, but by the spirit of intolerance... the spread of which can only be regarded as the total eclipse of human reason.”

“As soon as man enters into a state of society he loses the sense of his weakness; equality ceases, and then commences the state of war.”

“If triangles had a god, he would have three sides.”