Who so taketh in hand to frame any state or government ought to presuppose that all men are evil, and at occasions will show themselves so to be.

Take special care that thou never trust any friend or servant with any matter that may endanger thine estate; for so shalt thou make thyself a bond-slave to him that thou trustest, and leave thyself always to his mercy.

Less pains in the world a man cannot take than to bold his tongue.

[It is a basic principle of a tyrant] to unarm his people of weapons, money and all means whereby they resist his power.

An anthology is like all the plums and orange peel picked out of a cake.

Because all men are apt to flatter themselves, to entertain the addition of other men's praises is most perilous.

I can't write a book commensurate with Shakespeare, but I can write a book by me.