Whenever despair overtakes me and all seems futile, I can count on 18th-century philosopher and author of Encyclopédie Denis Diderot to elevate my spirits. Take it away, Monsieur!

LIFE: “To be born in imbecility, in the midst of pain and crisis to be the plaything of ignorance, error, need, sickness, wickedness, and passions; to return step by step to imbecility, from the time of lisping to that of doting; to live among knaves and charlatans of all kinds; to die between one man who takes your pulse and another who troubles your head; never to know where you come from, why you come and where you are going! That is what is called the most important gift of our parents and nature. Life.”

Now that you’re fully rejuvenated, enjoy this heart-warming aphorism: “Men will never be free until the last king [feel free to substitute president or dictator here] is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.”