Why has the government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice without constraint.

Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them.

Sic semper tyrannis! The South is avenged.

The more corrupt the republic, the more numerous the laws.

On the loftiest throne in the world, we still sit only on our own rump.

I am no courtesan, nor moderator, nor tribune, nor defender of the people: I am myself the people.

The best of all rulers is but a shadowy presence to his subjects.

The affairs of the world are no more than so much trickery, and a man who toils for money or honor or whatever else in deference to the wishes of others, rather than because his own desire or needs lead him to do so, will always be a fool.

I am invariably of the politics of the people at whose table I sit, or beneath whose roof I sleep.

Television has made dictatorship impossible, but democracy unbearable.

The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure it is right.

You campaign in poetry. You govern in prose.

You have all the characteristics of a popular politician: a horrible voice, bad breeding, and a vulgar manner.