The art of government is to make two-thirds of a nation pay all it possibly can pay for the benefit of the other third.
History is only the register of crimes and misfortunes.
Every man can educate himself. It's shameful to put one's mind into the hands of those whom you wouldn't entrust with your money. Dare to think for yourself.
Time, which alone makes the reputation of men, ends by making their defects respectable.
What most persons consider as virtue, after the age of 40 is simply a loss of energy.
The little may contrast with the great, in painting, but cannot be said to be contrary to it. Oppositions of colors contrast; but there are also colors contrary to each other, that is, which produce an ill effect because they shock the eye when brought very near it.