Life was given to me as a favor, so I may abandon it when it is one no longer. - Montesquieu

We are so blind that we know neither when to mourn, nor when to rejoice; our mirth and our sadness are nearly always false.

It is a paralogism to say, that the good of the individual should give way to that of the public; this can never take place, except when the government of the community, or, in other words, the liberty of the subject is concerned; this does not affect such cases as relate to private property, because the public good consists in everyone's having his property, which was given him by the civil laws, invariably preserved.

Superioritatea dragostei asupra dezmăţului provine din înmulţirea plăcerilor. Toate gândurile, dorinţele, simţămintele devin reciproce. În dragoste, aveţi două trupuri şi două suflete ; în desfrâu, aveţi un suflet care se scârbeşte chiar de propriul său trup.