"The first man who, having enclosed a piece of ground, bethought himself of saying 'This is mine', and found people simple enough to believe him, was the real founder of civil society."

"Luxury, which nourishes a hundred poor people in our cities, starves ten thousand in the countryside."

"If I am not better, at least I am different."

"A man who has been aroused by a woman's modesty will be more deeply moved by her charms."

"Everything is in a state of flux on this earth. Nothing keeps a form for long, and our affections, which are attached to external things, pass and change as they do."