Freedom is not the power to do what we want， but the right to do what we ought.
Nature never deceives us； it is always we who deceive ourselves.
The first step towards philosophy is incredulity.
The more we love our friends， the less we flatter them； it is by excusing nothing that pure love shows itself.
To write a good love letter， you ought to begin without knowing what you mean to say， and to finish without knowing what you have written.
I cannot but be astonished that Socrates， after having so often repeated to his fellow citizens that he did not pretend to any wisdom， but had been appointed by the gods to a mission of benevolence towards them， should have been condemned to death.
The general will is always right， but the judgment which guides it is not always enlightened.