A man can be himself only so long as he is alone; and if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom; for it is only when he is alone that he is really free.

---

Man is never happy, but spends his whole life in striving after something which he thinks will make him so.

---

A pessimist is an optimist in full possession of the facts.

---

The majority of men... are not capable of thinking, but only of believing, and... are not accessible to reason, but only to authority.

---

The shortness of life, so often lamented, may be the best thing about it.

---

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.

---

If we suspect that a man is lying, we should pretend to believe him; for then he becomes bold and assured, lies more vigorously, and is unmasked.

---

After your death you will be what you were before your birth.

---

The safest way of not being very miserable is not to expect to be very happy.

---

We seldom think of what we have but always of what we lack. Therefore, rather than grateful, we are bitter.

---