Principles are a dangerous form of social dynamite.

Persons who are born too soon or born too late seldom achieve the eminence of those who are born at the right time.

To the biographer all lives bar none are dramatic constructions.

The lovers of romance can go elsewhere for satisfaction but where can the lovers of truth turn if not to history?

People seem to think that life began with the achievement of personal independence.

Catherine the Great, like others of her kind, did not succeed in imparting greatness to her descendants.

Few persons can relate the story of their childhood without idealizing, or distorting, or overdramatizing the facts.