"Virtue is but a mask which one puts on and takes off according to need."

"One would have to lose one's wits to believe in a God, and to become a complete imbecile to adore Him."

"The universe is a chaos, and man is a part of that chaos."

"There are,' said Curval, 'but two or three crimes to perform in this world, and they, once done, there's no more to be said; all the rest is inferior, you cease any longer to feel."

"I don't know what the heart is, not I: I only use the word to denote the mind's frailties."