Our observation of nature must be diligent our reflection profound and our experiments exact. We rarely see these three means combined and for this reason creative geniuses are not common.

Reason is a supple nymph and slippery as a fish by nature. She had as leave give her kiss to an absurdity any day as to syllogistic truth. The absurdity may turn out truer.

Nature is relentless and unchangeable and it is indifferent as to whether its hidden reasons and actions are understandable to man or not.

It is the nature of the artist to mind excessively what is said about him. Literature is strewn with the wreckage of men who have minded beyond reason the opinions of others.

In all private quarrels the duller nature is triumphant by reason of dullness.

Virtue is a habit of the mind consistent with nature and moderation and reason.

Our soul is cast into a body where it finds number time dimension. Thereupon it reasons and calls this nature necessity and can believe nothing else.

He who can be and therefore is another's and he who participates in reason enough to apprehend but not to have is a slave by nature.

For as the eyes of bats are to the blaze of day so is the reason in our soul to the things which are by nature most evident of all.

All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance nature compulsions habit reason passion desire.