Claude-Adrien Helvétius

“Interest is the only guide of the actions of men.”

“To be happy, it is necessary not to be too intelligent.”

“It is from the moment that men begin to want to be something, that they cease to be anything.”

“Men are born ignorant, not stupid. They are made stupid by education.”

“All is reduced to this: to be happy, one must be virtuous.”

“The sciences are the masterpieces of the human mind, its greatest titles to glory.”

“Truth is a torch, but a terrific one; therefore we all try to grasp it with a blink.”

“The art of pleasing is the art of deceiving.”

“To limit the press is to insult a nation; to prohibit reading of certain books is to declare the inhabitants to be either fools or slaves.”

“Education can do anything and everything.”

“The desire of glory is the genuine passion of a great soul.”

“The sciences are the masterpieces of the human mind, its finest creations.”

“The art of pleasing is the art of deceiving.”

“Genius is nothing but a continued attention.”

“Unity is a great thing, but not an absolute good. It is better to have truth and division than unity and error.”

“To limit the press is to insult a nation; to prohibit reading of certain books is to declare the inhabitants to be either fools or slaves.”

“Education can do anything.”

“In every country, the love of pleasure is the secret spring of all the actions of men.”

“True merit, like a river, the deeper it is, the less noise it makes.”

“Physical sensibility is the unique cause of our actions, our thoughts, our passions, and our sociability.”