Wisdom consists in rising superior both to madness and to common sense, and is lending oneself to the universal illusion without becoming its dupe.
A microscopic phantom of the universe; this is all that we are able to be.
There is no curing a sick man who believes himself to be in health.
Love is like swallowing hot chocolate before it has cooled off. It takes you by surprise at first, but keeps you warm for a long time.
Our dependence outweighs our independence, for we are independent only in our desire, while we are dependent on our health, on nature, on society, on everything in us and outside us.
Happiness does away with ugliness, and even makes the beauty of beauty.
Time is but the measure of the difficulty of a conception. Pure thought has scarcely any need of time, since it perceives the two ends of an idea almost at the same moment.
The more a man loves, the more he suffers. The sum of possible grief for each soul is in proportion to its degree of perfection.
A philosopher is aspires to explain away all mysteries, to dissolve them into light.
Philosophy means the complete liberty of the mind.
What we do not understand we have no right to judge.
Nothing is more characteristic of a man than the manner in which he behaves toward fools.
The stationary condition is the beginning of the end.
Time is but the space between our memories; as soon as we cease to perceive this space, time has disappeared.
Happiness has no limits, because God has neither bottom nor bounds, and because happiness is nothing but the conquest of God through love.
Only evil grows of itself, while for goodness we want effort and courage.
A belief is not true simply because it is useful.
Whenever conscience speaks with a divided, uncertain, and disputed voice, it is not the voice of God. Descend still deeper into yourself, until you hear nothing but a clear, undivided voice, a voice which does away with doubt and brings with it persuasion, light, and serenity.
Common sense is the measure of the possible.
How, then, find the courage for action? By slipping a little into unconsciousness, spontaneity, instinct which holds one to the earth and dictates the relatively good and useful. By accepting the human condition more simply, and candidly, by dreading troubles less, calculating less, hoping more.