The owl of Minerva spreads its wings only with the falling of the dusk.

The Catholics had been in the position of oppressors, and the Protestants of the oppressed

It is a matter of perfect indifference where a thing originated; the only question is: Is it true in and for itself?

No man is a hero to his valet de chamber

The essence of the modern state is that the universal be bound up with the complete freedom of its particular members and with private well-being, that thus the interests of family and civil society must concentrate themselves on the state. It is only when both these moments subsist in their strength that the state can be regarded as articulated and genuinely organized.

Once the state has been founded, there can no longer be any heroes. They come on the scene only in uncivilized conditions.

When liberty is mentioned, we must always be careful to observe whether it is not really the assertion of private interests which is thereby designated.