Émile Durkheim

Religion is not a delusion, but a social fact.

The division of labor is the source of social solidarity.

Society is not a mere aggregate of individuals; it is a reality sui generis.

The sacred and the profane are two distinct categories of reality.

Crime is a normal phenomenon of social life.

Suicide is a social fact, not merely an individual act.

The family is the elementary form of social organization.

The state is a moral institution, not merely a political one.

Justice is the fundamental principle of social order.

Anomie is a state of normlessness, a breakdown of social regulation.

The individual is free only when he obeys the rules of society.

Education is the methodical socialization of the younger generation.

The primary cause of social change is the division of labor.

Solidarity is the glue that holds society together.

The social fact is a thing, and must be studied as such.

Morality is a system of rules that prescribe how we ought to act.

The school is a miniature society.

The collective effervescence is the source of religious experience.

I am working on a book on the elementary forms of religious life.

My health is not good, but my spirit remains strong.