Treaties, you see, are like girls and roses: they last while they last.

All the ills of democracy can be cured by more democracy.

It is impossible to tell which of the two dispositions we find in men is more harmful in a republic, that which seeks to maintain an established position or that which has none but seeks to acquire it.

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

If you must take care that your opinions do not differ in the least from those of the person with whom you are talking, you might just as well be alone.

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

Let him who desires peace prepare for war.

O citizens, first acquire wealth; you can practice virtue afterward.

An appeal to the reason of the people has never been known to fail in the long run.

In politics, what begins in fear usually ends in folly.

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

There is no method by which men can be both free and equal.

The most hateful torment for men is to have knowledge of everything but power over nothing.