There is certainly a God; I believe in that; but I have higher ideas of Him than those of your priests; I do not wish to bring Him down to my level; I want to rise to Him.

I listen to the voice He has put within me,--a voice which honest men call conscience, and I strive not to darken that divine ray as it comes to me.

For instance, I will never harm others; I will do nothing against the commandments of universal morality, which was that of Confucius, Moses, Pythagoras, Socrates, as well as of Jesus Christ.

I will stand in the presence of God; my actions shall be my prayers; I will never be false in word or deed; never will I do a base or shameful thing.

Those are the precepts I have learned from my virtuous father, and which I desire to bequeath to my children.