You philosophers are lucky men. You write on paper and paper is patient. Unfortunate Empress that I am, I write on the susceptible skins of living beings.
Catherine the GreatIn politics a capable ruler must be guided by circumstances, conjectures and conjunctions.
Catherine the GreatTell a thousand people to draft a letter, let them debate every phrase, and see how long it takes and what you get.
Catherine the GreatAny man who doesn't partake in cigar smoking is nothing more than a weak-willed, meandering oaf, and I would never put my lips to those of any creature, man or beast, whose lips were not fresh awash in the currents of cigar smoke.'
Catherine the GreatThe laws ought to be so framed as to secure the safety of every citizen as much as possible. ... Political liberty does not consist in the notion that a man may do whatever he pleases; liberty is the right to do whatsoever the laws allow. ... The equality of the citizens consists in that they should all be subject to the same laws.
Catherine the Great