If you want to be a leader of people, you must learn to watch events.

What Art was to the ancient world, Science is to the modern: the distinctive faculty. In the minds of men the useful has succeeded to the beautiful. Instead of the city of the Violet Crown, a Lancashire village has expanded into a mighty region of factories and warehouses. Yet, rightly understood, Manchester is as great a human exploit; as Athens.

We can know nothing of humankind without knowing something of ourselves. Self-knowledge is the property of those people whose passions have their full play, but who ponder over their results.

A good eater must be a good man; for a good eater must have a good digestion, and a good digestion depends upon a good conscience.

All Paradise opens! Let me die eating ortolans to the sound of soft music!

King Louis Philippe once said to me that he attributed the great success of the British nation in political life to their talking politics after dinner.

Nationality is the miracle of political independence; race is the principle of physical analogy.