All men are by nature equal, made all of the same earth by one Workman and however we deceive ourselves, as dear unto God is the poor peasant as the mighty prince.

He who is of calm and happy nature will hardly feel the pressure of age, but to him who is of an opposite disposition youth and age are equally a burden.

No man should bring children into the world who is unwilling to persevere to the end in their nature and education.

To prefer evil to good is not in human nature and when a man is compelled to choose one of two evils, no one will choose the greater when he might have the less.

Then not only custom, but also nature affirms that to do is more disgraceful than to suffer injustice, and that justice is equality.

Let parents bequeath to their children not riches, but the spirit of reverence.

Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history.

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.

There will be no end to the troubles of states, or of humanity itself, till philosophers become kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers, and political power and philosophy thus come into the same hands.

The measure of a man is what he does with power.