He [Napoleon] was as great as a man can be without morality.

In the principle of equality I very clearly discern two tendencies; one leading the mind of every man to untried thoughts, the other prohibiting him from thinking at all.

The genius of democracies is seen not only in the great number of new words introduced but even more in the new ideas they express.

Trade is the natural enemy of all violent passions. Trade loves moderation, delights in compromise, and is most careful to avoid anger. It is patient, supple, and insinuating, only resorting to extreme measures in cases of absolute necessity.

On this waterlogged landscape....are scattered palaces and hovels....It is here that the human spirit becomes perfect, and at the same time brutalised, that civilisation produces its marvels and that civilised man returns to the savage.

Nobody is going to occupy a place higher than I.

Grant me thirty years of equal division of inheritances and a free press, and I will provide you with a republic.