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

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

There is nothing more tyrannical than a strong popular feeling among a democratic people.

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

He may be a patriot for Austria, but the question is whether he is a patriot for me.

It is a certain sign of a wise government and proceeding, when it can hold men’s hearts by hopes, when it cannot by satisfaction.

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.

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

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

The first requirement of a statesman is that he be dull.

You should never have your best trousers on when you go out to fight for freedom and truth.

Envy is the basis of democracy.

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.