I have often seen an actor laugh off the stage, but I don't remember ever having seen one weep.

Death and Dying

The infant runs toward it with its eyes closed, the adult is stationary, the old man approaches it with his back turned.

Freedom

No man has received from nature the right to give orders to others. Freedom is a gift from heaven, and every individual of the same species has the right to enjoy it as soon as he is in enjoyment of his reason.

Human Nature

It is not human nature we should accuse but the despicable conventions that pervert it.

Men and Women

There is no kind of harassment that a man may not inflict on a woman with impunity in civilized societies.

Passion

There is only one passion, the passion for happiness.

Poetry and Poets

Poetry must have something in it that is barbaric, vast and wild.

Superstition

When superstition is allowed to perform the task of old age in dulling the human temperament, we can say goodbye to all excellence in poetry, in painting, and in music.

Theory

In order to shake a hypothesis, it is sometimes not necessary to do anything more than push it as far as it will go.