Music, of all the liberal arts, has the greatest influence over the passions, and it is that to which the legislator ought to give the greatest encouragement.

It is a mistake, too, to say that the face is the mirror of the soul. The truth is, men are very hard to know, and yet, not to be deceived, we must judge them by their present actions, but for the present only.

Ambition never is in a greater hurry that I; it merely keeps pace with circumstances and with my general way of thinking.

Go Sir, gallop and don't forget that the world was made in six days. You can ask me for anything but not time.

Among so many conflicting ideas and so many different perspectives, the honest man is confused and distressed and the skeptic becomes wicked ... Since one must take sides, one might as well choose the side that is victorious, the side which devastates, loots, and burns. Considering the alternative, it is better to eat than to be eaten.

In war one must lean on an obstacle in order to overcome it.

If I had not been defeated in Acre against Jezzar Pasha of Turk. I would conquer all of the East.