"To limit the press is to insult a nation; to prohibit reading of certain books is to declare the inhabitants to be ei…"

"All men have an equal disposition for understanding."

"No nation has reason to regard itself superior to others by virtue of its innate endowment."

"Discipline is, in a manner, nothing else but the art of inspiring the soldiers with greater fear of their officers th…"

"…there are men whom a happy disposition, a strong desire of glory and esteem, inspire with the same love for justice …"

"Most events spring from causes equally small: we are unacquainted with them because most historians have been themsel…"

"The degree of genius necessary to please us is pretty nearly the same proportion that we ourselves have."

"Der Mensch wird unwissend geboren: er kommt aber nicht dumm auf die Welt und wird es auch nicht ohne Anstrengung."

"Wahrheit ist eine Fackel, die durch den Nebel leuchtet, ohne ihn zu vertreiben."

"Die Religion hat viel Schlechtes und nur wenig Gutes hervorgebracht."