“Virtue has a veil, vice a mask.”

“Animals are nothing but the portrayal of our virtues and vices made manifest to our eyes, the visible reflections of our souls.”

“Every good quality runs into a defect; economy borders on avarice, the generous are not far from the prodigal, the brave man is close to the bully; he who is very pious is slightly sanctimonious; there are just as many vices to virtue as there are holes in the mantle of Diogenes.”

“Counterfeits of the past, under new names, may easily be mistaken for the future. The past, that ghostly traveler, is liable to forge his papers. We must be wary of the trap. The past has a face which is superstition, and a mask, which is hypocrisy. We must expose the face and tear off the mask.”

“a compliment is like a kiss through a veil.”

“It is ourselves we have to fear. Prejudice is the real robber, and vice the real murderer.”

“Let us fear ourselves. Prejudices are the real robbers; vices are the real murderers. The great dangers lie within ourselves.”