Nothing is more ancient than God, for He was never created; nothing more beautiful than the world, it is the work of that same God; nothing is more active than thought, for it flies over the whole universe; nothing is stronger than necessity, for all must submit to it.

As quoted in Treasury of Thought: Forming an Encyclopedia of Quotations from Ancient and Modern Authors (J. R. Osgood and Company, 1872), p. 204