The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy.

There is no nation so powerful, as the one that obeys its laws not from principals of fear or reason, but from passion.

There is only one thing that can form a bond between men, and that is gratitude... we cannot give someone else greater power over us than we have ourselves.

The sublimity of administration consists in knowing the proper degree of power that should be exerted on different occasions.

The incomparable stupidity of life teaches us to love our parents; divine philosophy teaches us to forgive them.

A man who writes well writes not as others write, but as he himself writes; it is often in speaking badly that he speaks well.

People here argue about religion interminably, but it appears that they are competing at the same time to see who can be the least devout.