People take England on trust, and repeat that Shakespeare is the greatest of all authors. I have read him: there is nothing that compares Racine or Corneille: his plays are unreadable, pitiful.

Brave deeds are the monuments of brave men.

Laws which are consistent in theory often prove chaotic in practice.

When I had the honor to be a second lieutenant, I ate dry bread, but I never let anyone know that I was poor.

Machiavelli is right: one always must live with one's friends with the idea that they may turn into one's enemies. He should have said, with everyone.

Liberty is a need felt by a small class of people whom nature has endowed with nobler minds than the mass of men;.... Consequently, it may be repressed with impunity. Equality, on the other hand, pleases the masses.

Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.