For a long time I have not said what I believed, nor do I ever believe what I say, and if indeed sometimes I do happen to tell the truth, I hide it among so many lies that it is hard to find.

....it cannot be called ingenuity to kill one's fellow citizens, to betray friends, to be without faith, without mercy, without religion; by these means one can aquire power but not glory.

It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles.

Men generally decide upon a middle course, which is most hazardous, for they know neither how to be entirely good nor entirely bad.

Wisdom consists in being able to distinguish among dangers and make a choice of the least harmful.

Is it better to be loved or feared?

For one change always leaves a dovetail into which another will fit.