“Scepticism is the first step towards truth.”

“From fanaticism to barbarism is only one step.”

“Whether God exists or does not exist, He has come to rank among the most sublime and useless truths.”

“We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us, but we sip only little by little at a truth we find bitter.”

“As long as the centuries continue to unfold, the number of books will grow continually, and one can predict that a time will come when it will be almost as difficult to learn anything from books as from the direct study of the whole universe. It will be almost as convenient to search for some bit of truth concealed in nature as it will be to find it hidden away in an immense multitude of bound volumes.”

“The first step towards philosophy is incredulity.”

“Nous aimons, sans nous en douter, tout ce qui nous livre à nos penchants, nous séduit et excuse notre faiblesse.”