I don't employ Talleyrand when I want a thing done, but only when I want to have the appearance of wanting to do it.

Timid and cowardly soldiers cause the loss of a nation's independence; but pusillanimous magistrates destroy the empire of the laws, the rights of the throne, and even social order itself.

War is a serious game in which a man risks his reputation, his troops, and his country. A sensible man will search himself to know whether or not he is fitted for the trade.

Of all the peoples of Europe, Spaniards disgust me the least.

My dominion ends where that of conscience begins.

To understand the man you have to know what was happening in the world when he was twenty.

I pay attention only to what people do or say. I never pay attention to what they think.