In the weakness of one kind of authority, and in the fluctuation of all, the officers of an army will remain for some time mutinous and full of faction, until some popular general, who understands the art of conciliating the soldiery, and who possesses the true spirit of command, shall draw the eyes of all men upon himself. Armies will obey him on his personal account. There is no other way of securing military obedience in this state of things.

Nothing, indeed, but the possession of some power can with any certainty discover what at the bottom is the true character of any man.

Tell me what are the prevailing sentiments that occupy the minds of your young peoples, and I will tell you what is to be the character of the next generation.

Sallust is indisputably one of the best historians among the Romans, both for the purity of his language and the elegance of his style.

We must all obey the great law of change. It is the most powerful law of nature.

It is by bribing, not so often by being bribed, that wicked politicians bring ruin on mankind. Avarice is a rival to the pursuits of many.

Government is the exercise of all the great qualities of the human mind.