They wanted me to be a Washington.
A Constitution should be short and obscure.
I can no longer obey; I have tasted command, and I cannot give it up.
If fifty thousand men were to die for the good of the State, I certainly would weep for them, but political necessity comes before everything else.
A throne is only a bench covered with velvet.
A revolution is an idea which has found its bayonets.
In a conquered country benevolence is not humanitarianism. It is a general political axiom that a conqueror must not inspire a good opinion of his benevolence until he has demonstrated that he can be severe with malefactors.
When people cease to complain, they cease to think.
In politics... never retreat, never retract... never admit a mistake.
It is the cause, not the death, that makes the martyr.
Men are more easily governed through their vices than through their virtues.
Bloodletting is among the ingredients of political medicine.
In political administration, no problem is ever simple. It can never be reduced to the question whether a certain measure is good or not.
This year has begun hopefully for right thinkers. After all these centuries of feudal barbarism and political slavery, it is surprising to see how the word of 'liberty' sets minds on fire.
Power is my mistress. I have worked too hard at her conquest to allow anyone to take her away from me.