"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."

"The most dangerous method of doing evil is to do good under false pretenses."

"The first man who, having fenced in a piece of land, said 'This is mine,' and found people naive enough to believe him, was the true founder of civil society. From how many crimes, wars, and murders, …"

"Civilization is a thin and precarious crust, which can be broken through at any moment by the earthquake from below."

"To be well governed, a state must be small."