"The people, when they are not restrained by fear, are always ready to commit every kind of excess."

"It is better to be a good prophet than a good poet."

"He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command."

"It is not fortune, but their own indolence, that causes men to abandon themselves to their fate."

"And it ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order…"