"Of Optimism I have said that "The world is the best of all possible worlds, and everything in it is a necessary evil."

“Metaphysics is the finding of bad reasons for what we believe upon instinct; but to find these reasons is no less an instinct.”

“I will begin with the self-styled "Christian" party, who profess to base their morality on the New Testament. But whether it is really more Christian to follow or to ignore the teachings of the Gospels I shall not discuss.”

“There are those who so dislike the nude that they find something indecent in the naked truth.”

“The deadliest foe to virtue would be complete self-knowledge.”

“We say that a girl with her doll anticipates the mother. It is more true, perhaps, that most mothers are still but children with playthings.”

“One said of suicide, “As long as one has brains one should not blow them out.” And another answered, “But when one has ceased to have them, too often one cannot.”