The devil is merely a fallen angel, and when God lost Satan he lost one of his best lieutenants.

The best servants of the people, like the best valets, must whisper unpleasant truths in the master's ear. It is the court fool, not the foolish courtier, whom the king can least afford to lose.

Without criticism and reliable and intelligent reporting, the government cannot govern.

The genius of a good leader is to leave behind him a situation which common sense, without the grace of genius, can deal with successfully.

Only the consciousness of a purpose that is mightier than any man and worthy of all men can fortify and inspirit and compose the souls of men.

When everyone thinks the same, nobody is thinking.

We forge gradually our greatest instrument for understanding the world - introspection. We discover that humanity may resemble us very considerably - that the best way of knowing the inwardness of our neighbors is to know ourselves.