The Favorites Of Fortune Or Of Fame

Necessity Relieves Us From The Embarrassment Of Choice.

It Is In Our Own Mind And Not In Exterior Objects That We Perceive Most Things; Fools Know Scarcely Anything Because They Are Empty, And Their Heart Is Narrow; But Great Souls Find In Themselves A Number Of Exterior Things; They Have No Need To Read Or Travel Or To Listen Or To Work To Discover The Highest Truths; They Have Only To Delve Into Themselves And Search, If We May Say So, Their Own Thoughts.

In A Way, The Main Fault Of All Books Is That They Are Too Long.

Superficial Knowledge ... Is Hurtful To Those Who Possess True Genius; For It Necessarily Draws Them Away From Their Main Object, Wastes Their Industry Over Details And Subjects Foreign To Their Needs And Natural Talent, And Lastly Does Not Serve, As They Flatter Themselves, To Prove The Breadth Of Their Mind. In All Ages There Have Been Men Of Very Moderate Intelligence Who Knew Much, And So On The Contrary, Men Of The Highest Intelligence Who Knew Very Little. Ignorance Is Not Lack Of Intelligence, Nor Knowledge A Proof Of Genius.

If Anyone Accuses Me Of Contradicting Myself, I Shall Reply; I Have Been Wrong Once Or More Often, However I Do Not Aspire To Be Always Wrong.