It is with books as with men-a very small number play a great part; the rest are lost in the multitude.

All the citizens of a state cannot be equally powerful, but they may be equally free.

The more estimable the offender, the greater the torment.

The necessity of saying something, the embarrassment produced by the consciousness of having nothing to say, and the desire to exhibit ability, are three things sufficient to render even a great man ridiculous.

An infallible method of making fanatics is to persuade before you instruct.

It is fancy rather than taste which produces so many new fashions.

History is the recital of facts represented as true. Fable, on the other hand, is the recital of facts represented as fiction.

Friendship is the marriage of the soul, and this marriage is liable to divorce.

Those who think are excessively few; and those few do not set themselves to disturb the world.

In general, the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.