Men are so necessarily mad, that not to be mad would amount to another form of madness. - Blaise Pascal

We make an idol of truth itself, for truth apart from charity is not God, but his image and an idol that we must not love or worship.

What a great advantage to be of noble birth, since it gives a man of eighteen the standing, recognition and respect that another man might not earn before he was fifty. That means winning thirty years’ start with no effort.

[92] Cause and effect. It is then true to say that everyone is the victim of illusion, because the ordinary person’s opinions are sound without being intellectually so, for he believes truth to be where it is not. There is certainly some truth in these opinions, but not as much as people imagine. It is true that we should honour the gentry but not because gentle birth is a real advantage.