I hope that posterity will judge me kindly, not only as to the things which I have explained, but also to those which I have intentionally omitted so as to leave to others the pleasure of discovery.

The two operations of our understanding, intuition and deduction, on which alone we have said we must rely in the acquisition of knowledge.

Perfect numbers like perfect men are very rare.

Except our own thoughts, there is nothing absolutely in our power.

When it is not in our power to follow what is true, we ought to follow what is most probable.