The majority of men are more capable of great actions than of good ones.

Countries are not cultivated in proportion to their fertility, but to their liberty.

Although born in a prosperous realm, we did not believe that its boundaries should limit our knowledge, and that the lore of the East should alone enlighten us.

I never listen to calumnies, because if they are untrue I run the risk of being deceived, and if they be true, of hating persons not worth thinking about.

It is unreasonable ... to oblige a man not to attempt the defense of his own life.

There have never been so many civil wars as in the Kingdom of Christ.

The culminating point of administration is to know well how much power, great or small, we ought to use in all circumstances.