Forty years ago I didn't exist, and it was not within my power to be born. It does not depend upon me who now exist to be no more. Consequently, I began being and am going on being, thanks to something which is beyond me, which will last after me, which is mightier than I am. If that something is not God, pray tell me what it is.
Everything is great and worthy of admiration in Nature.
O you vain and conceited man, make one of these worms which you despise! You loathe toads; make a toad if you can!
Kings, monarchs, potentates, sacred majesties, have I given you all your supreme names? We, mere men, require some rain for our crops or even some dew; make some dew, send to the earth a drop of water!
A certain inequality in the destinies of men, which maintains order and obedience, is the work of God. It suggests a divine law.
If the reader does not care for these "characters," it will surprise me; if he does care for them, it will also surprise me.