"Freedom, like a woman, is jealous and demands total devotion."

"The people who live in the torrid zone are lazy and indolent. They are incapable of governing themselves."

"Despotism is the exercise of power without right."

"The people of Colombia are not yet prepared for the reforms that I have introduced. They have been accustomed to the yoke of slavery, and they will not easily shake it off."

"Colombians! My last wish is for the happiness of the fatherland. If my death contributes to the cessation of parties and the consolidation of the Union, I shall descend to the tomb in peace."