I am sometimes a fox and sometimes a lion. The whole secret of government lies in knowing when to be the one or the other.

Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them.

When small men attempt great enterprises, they always end by reducing them to the level of their mediocrity.

The herd seek out the great, not for their sake but for their influence and the great welcome them out of vanity or need.

The great proof of madness is the disproportion of one's designs to one's means.

History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.

What is history but a fable agreed upon?

Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.

History is a set of lies agreed upon.

Skepticism is a virtue in history as well as in philosophy.