All that we do is done with an eye to something else.

But the whole vital process of the earth takes place so gradually and in periods of time which are so immense compared with the length of our life, that these changes are not observed, and before their course can be recorded from beginning to end whole nations perish and are destroyed.

They should rule who are able to rule best.

It is this simplicity that makes the uneducated more effective than the educated when addressing popular audiences-makes them, as the poets tell us, 'charm the crowd's ears more finely.' Educated men lay down broad general principles; uneducated men argue from common knowledge and draw obvious conclusions.

Worthless persons appointed to have supreme control of weighty affairs do a lot of damage.

In order to be effective you need not only virtue but also mental strength.

A good style must have an air of novelty, at the same time concealing its art.