I am invariably of the politics of the people at whose table I sit, or beneath whose roof I sleep.
—George Borrow, 1843Quotes
He may be a patriot for Austria, but the question is whether he is a patriot for me.
—Emperor Francis Joseph, c. 1850Out of the crooked timber of humanity no straight thing was ever made.
—Immanuel Kant, 1784Treaties, you see, are like girls and roses: they last while they last.
—Charles de Gaulle, 1963The U.S. presidency is a Tudor monarchy plus telephones.
—Anthony Burgess, 1972People revere the Constitution yet know so little about it—and that goes for some of my fellow senators.
—Robert Byrd, 2005Sic semper tyrannis! The South is avenged.
—John Wilkes Booth, 1865It 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.
—Niccolò Machiavelli, c. 1515Politics, n. A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.
—Ambrose Bierce, 1906You have all the characteristics of a popular politician: a horrible voice, bad breeding, and a vulgar manner.
—Aristophanes, c. 424 BCMy people and I have come to an agreement that satisfies us both. They are to say what they please, and I am to do what I please.
—Frederick the Great, c. 1770A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always count on the support of Paul.
—George Bernard Shaw, 1944Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
—Lord Acton, 1887