There is a stage of degradation which robs the soul of its life; and the inner voice cannot be heard by one… — Jean Jacques Rousseau

Where is the man who owes nothing to the land in which he lives? Whatever that land may be, he owes to it the most precious thing possessed by man, the morality of his actions and the love of virtue.

Gluttony is the vice of feeble minds. The gourmand has his brains in his palate, he can do nothing but eat; he is so stupid and incapable that the table is the only place for him, and dishes are the only things he knows anything about. Let us leave him to this business without regret; it is better for him and for us.

Nature never deceives us; it is always we who deceive ourselves.