monarchs

"However the aim of the people's representatives (today) is to form an opposition so that there will always be debates and confrontation which could result in the house being not able to do any work."

"O Turkish and Oghuz lords and people, hear! Unless the sky above collapses and the earth below is destroyed, O Turkish people, who could destroy and disrupt your state and laws?"

"Cf. Ede, bibe, lude, post mortem nulla voluptas."

"Th’ Assyrians’ king, in peace with foul desire And filthy lust that stained his regal heart, In war, that should set princely hearts afire, Vanquished did yield for want of martial art. The dent of swords from kisses seemed strange, And harder than his lady’s side his targe; From glutton feasts to soldiers’ fare a change His helmet far above a garland’s charge. Who scarce the name of manhood did retain Drenched in sloth and womanish delight, Feeble of sprete, unpatient of pain, When he had lost his honour and his right (Proud time of wealth, in storms appalled with dread) Murdered himself to show some manful deed."

"Th’ Assyrian king, in peace, with foul desire And filthy lusts that stained his regal heart; In war, that should set princely hearts on fire, Did yield, vanquished for want of martial art. The dint of swords from kisses seemèd strange, And harder than his lady’s side his targe; From glutton feasts to soldier’s fare a change; His helmet far above a garland’s charge: Who scarce the name of manhood did retain, Drenchèd in sloth and womanish delight, Feeble of spirit, impatient of pain, When he had lost his honour and his right, (Proud, time of wealth; in storms, appalled with dread,) Murthered himself, to show some manful deed."

"I thought to have made mine inoffensive rule An era of sweet peace 'midst bloody annals, A green spot amidst desert centuries, On which the future would turn back and smile, And cultivate, or sigh when it could not Recall Sardanapalus' golden reign. I thought to have made my realm a paradise, And every moon an epoch of new pleasures. I took the rabble's shouts for love – the breath Of friends for truth – the lips of woman for My only guerdon – so they are, my Myrrha: [He kisses her] Kiss me. Now let them take my realm and life! They shall have both, but never thee!"

"Why, what other Interpretation should it bear? it is The very policy of orient monarchs – Pardon and poison – favours and a sword – A distant voyage, and an eternal sleep […] How many satraps have I seen set out In his sire's day for mighty vice-royalties, Whose tombs are on their path! I know not how, But they all sicken'd by the way, it was So long and heavy."

"Till now, no drop from an Assyrian vein Hath flow'd for me, nor hath the smallest coin Of Nineveh's vast treasures e'er been lavish'd On objects which could cost her sons a tear: If then they hate me, 'tis because I hate not: If they rebel, 'tis because I oppress not."

"Which makes life itself a lie, Flattering dust with eternity."

"By all that's good and glorious."

"Eat, drink, and love; the rest's not worth a fillip."

"I am the very slave of circumstance And impulse,—borne away with every breath!"

"The dust we tread upon was once alive."

"All farewells should be sudden."

"Εὖ εἰδώς, ὅτι θνητὸς ἔφυς, σὸν θυμὸν ἄεξε, τερπόμενος θαλίήσι. θανόντι τοι οὔ τις ὄνησις. καὶ γὰρ ἐγὼ σποδός εἰμι, Πίνου μεγάλης βασιλεύσας. ταῦτ ἔχω, ὅσσ’ ἔφαγον καὶ ἐφύβρισα καὶ μἐτ ἔρωτος τέρπν’ ἔπαθον, τὰ δὲ πολλὰ καὶ ὀλβια κεῖνα λέλειπται."

"Who was it but one of my own race who as Voivode crossed the Danube and beat the Turk on his own ground? This was a Dracula indeed! Woe was it that his own unworthy brother, when he had fallen, sold his people to the Turk and brought the shame of slavery on them! Was it not this Dracula, indeed, who inspired that other of his race who in a later age again and again brought his forces over the great river into Turkey-land; who, when he was beaten back, came again, and again, and again, though he had to come alone from the bloody field where his troops were being slaughtered, since he knew that he alone could ultimately triumph! They said that he thought only of himself. Bah! what good are peasants without a leader? Where ends the war without a brain and heart to conduct it? Again, when, after the battle of Mohács, we threw off the Hungarian yoke, we of the Dracula blood were amongst their leaders, for our spirit would not brook that we were not free. Ah, young sir, the Szekelys—and the Dracula as their heart’s blood, their brains, and their swords—can boast a record that mushroom growths like the Hapsburgs and the Romanoffs can never reach. The warlike days are over. Blood is too precious a thing in these days of dishonourable peace; and the glories of the great races are as a tale that is told."

"In the year of Our Lord 1462 once Dracula came to the large city of Schylta [Nicopolis], where he had more than 25,000 people of all kinds of ethnic groups killed, Christians, pagans, etc. Among them were the most beautiful women and maidens, who had been taken captive by his courtiers. They begged Dracula to give them to them as honorable wives. Dracula did not want to do this and ordered that all of them together with the courtiers should be cut up like cabbage. And that he did because he had become obliged to pay tribute to the Turkish sultan, who had demanded tribute from him. Immediately Dracula let his people know that he wished to give over the tribute personally to the sultan. The people there were overjoyed, so he let his people come to him in large groups one after the other and he let all his courtiers ride with him. And then he had these people all killed. Also he had the same region called Pallgarey [Wulgerey] completely burned. He also had others nailed by their hair and in all there were 25,000 not counting those whom he had burned."

"A victorious line of march had been prolonged above a thousand miles from the rock of Gibraltar to the banks of the Loire; the repetition of an equal space would have carried the Saracens to the confines of Poland and the Highlands of Scotland: the Rhine is not more impassable than the Nile or Euphrates, and the Arabian fleet might have sailed without a naval combat into the mouth of the Thames. Perhaps the interpretation of the Koran would now be taught in the schools of Oxford, and her pulpits might demonstrate to a circumcised people the sanctity and truth of the revelation of Mahomet. From such calamities was Christendom delivered by the genius and fortune of one man. Charles, the illegitimate son of the elder Pepin, was content with the titles of mayor or duke of the Franks, but he deserved to become the father of a line of kings. In a laborious administration of twenty-four years, he restored and supported the dignity of the throne, and the rebels of Germany and Gaul were successively crushed by the activity of a warrior, who, in the same campaign, could display his banner on the Elbe, the Rhône, and the shores of the ocean."

"The figure of Charles Martel was destined to occupy an important place in the epic poetry of France. His splendid victory over the Saracens at Poitiers was doubtless made the subject of many contemporary songs, and its memory may perhaps still be traced in some of the incidents of the Song of Roland. But it is interesting to note that certain traditions which in the later French epic are attached to Martel's more illustrious grandson, must have originally related to the victor of Poitiers himself, in whose history they have their only actual counterpart. This substitution of a later and more celebrated hero in the place of one more remote, has already been indicated as a common phenomenon in the development of epic poetry. But the confusion of these two heroes in the tradition is of later generations becomes still more intelligible if we remember that the fathers of both bore the name of Pepin, and that they themselves were known generally to their contemporaries by the simple name of Charles. Of those epic poems which form what has been called the Charlemagne Cycle, two at least—those which claim to relate the birth and the youthful exploits of the great emperor—formed originally a part of the poetic tradition which had Charles Martel for its hero, while a large number of isolated episodes in other poems point to the same process of epic substitution."

"It was Charles Martel who had crushed the despots who were claiming dominion for themselves throughout the whole land of the Franks. It was he, too, who had conquered the Saracens, when they were striving to occupy Gaul, in two battles, one in Aquitaine, near the city of Poitiers, and the other by the River Berre, near Narbonne. In this way he compelled them to withdraw to Spain."

"The epithet of Martel, the Hammer, which has been added to the name of Charles, is expressive of his weighty and irresistible strokes: the valour of Eudes was excited by resentment and emulation; and their companions, in the eye of history, are the true Peers and Paladins of French chivalry."

"The Frankish power, it must be remembered, was under Charles Martel at the height of its greatness as a purely Frankish power. It was, in everything but formal titles, fully the peer of the Empire. And the personal glory of Charles stood above that of any living man in Christendom. He had beaten back the Mussulmans in the West, as the Emperor Leo had beaten them back in the East. The deliverer of the Church in Gaul was the founder of the Church in Germany. If the Lombard threatened, if the Emperor could or would give no help, the Frankish Mayor undoubtedly could give it effectually if he would. But the personal character and position of Charles must be taken into account. His reign—one cannot help calling it so—had been full of battles, full of victories. But he was not an adventurous or aggressive ruler. His object, whether for his own house or for the kingdom, was to keep what was in possession, to win back what had been lost, but to seek for nothing more."

"What can't be done by men of strength?."

"Let no drop of water make it to the sea without serving man."

"Romania posed a particular challenge for Soviet policies. It, too, had been a German ally, imitating the Nazis by murdering hundreds of thousands of Jews and Roma. It switched sides only in August 1944, when the war was going very badly for Hitler. The Communist Party there was weak and faction-ridden and did not have a key leader such as Dimitrov in Bulgaria. Worse, in Stalin’s view the Romanian party was dominated by “non-Romanians”—basically, Jews and Hungarians—who would not be recognized as “national” leaders. By the end of the war the Red Army had full military control, with a million Soviet soldiers stationed in Romania. But where to turn for effective local leadership? The Soviets decided to install a coalition government, as in Bulgaria, with the Communist Party in control of the ministry of justice and therefore the police. The young Romanian king, Michael, protested. Michael was regarded as a national hero after dismissing the pro-German leadership, but the Soviet emissary Andrei Vyshinskii gave him no choice. “You have two hours and five minutes to make it known to the public that [the government] has been dismissed,” the Soviet deputy foreign minister barked at the king. “By eight o’clock you must inform the public of [the] successor.” In November 1945 the Communist-led coalition won an election through widespread intimidation and fraud. Two years later it forced the king to abdicate. The government announced that a new People’s Republic of Romania was up and running."

"As Churchill and Roosevelt were overselling Yalta to the West, the agreements made there broke down in Eastern Europe during the month after the conference. The Soviets dragged their feet on repatriating prisoners of war. They did not send representatives to London to start up the new Control Commission for Germany. In Romania they forced the king to appoint a new government dominated by communists. In Poland they allowed the communist provisional government to veto candidates for its own “reconstruction” and to exclude Western observers, while potential rivals in Poland were butchered or sent to the camps. Stalin also said that Molotov was too busy to come to San Francisco and that the Soviet delegation to the UN founding conference would be led by Andrei Gromyko, then a midlevel diplomat. This was taken not only as a blatant snub but also as a real threat to the whole structure of postwar cooperation."

"King Michael I was simply exceptional…his strength, his dignity, his moral fibre..his devotion to his people left a huge mark and inspiration on many generations of Romanians."

"It is amazing that His Majesty King Michael I waited seventy years for the crown to be placed on him. It was very touching to hear the huge crowd chanting loudly ‘monarchy, kingdom…’. His Majesty was a great man who was deeply respected by everyone."

"I would like to pay tribute to his role when, in 1997, he undertook a tour of European capitals to promote Romania's entry into the European Union. Twenty-two years later, his beloved country will, for the first time in the first half of 2019, hold the presidency of the European Union. This will be an important moment for Romania and an important moment for the future of our Union. The memory of King Michael, who went through the most tragic periods of European history of the 20th century, will then be more than ever present in our thoughts..."

"Michael is the only person who may be able to pull the country through the coming months and save it from anarchy or communism."

"Concern about outside pressure was greatly accentuated by the war. For the Soviets, Eastern Europe served not only as an economic resource and an ideological bridgehead, but also as a strategic glacis. The Soviet determination to dominate Eastern Europe was a key cause of tension, both local and international, not least because domination meant the imposition, through force and manipulation, of Communist governments. The Soviets were not satisfied by the nuances of influence. The 1946 Polish elections in which the Communists did well were fraudulent. Force played an important role in the extension of Communist control. For example, King Michael of Romania abdicated on 30 December 1947 after the royal palace in the capital, Bucharest, was surrounded by troops of the Romanian division raised in the Soviet Union."

"What - and leave the country in the hands of a child?"

"The last 20 years have brought democracy, freedom and a beginning of prosperity."... "The time has come after 20 years to... break for good with the bad habits of the past", such as "demagogy, selfishness and attempts to cling to power"... "It is within our power to make this country prosperous and worthy of admiration."

"Because tens of millions of people have been destroyed practically, gone through absolute hell, and then suddenly they say, 'Well, it's all finished, let's forget it.' You don't forget it."

"The Crown is not a symbol of the past, but a unique representation of our Independence, Sovereignty and Unity. The Crown is a reflection of the state and the nation. The Crown has strengthened Romania through Loyalty, Courage, Respect, Seriousness and Modesty. I do not see Romania today as an inheritance from our parents, but as a country that we borrowed from our children. So Help us God! Michael I R’"

"No one does a good deed but Allah will make it show on him."

"If our hearts were truly pure, we would never have our fill of the words of your Lord."

"You are the guardians of the Muslims and their shield. Umar gave you a particular mission which is not hidden from us, rather it is known to everyone. I do not want to hear that any one of you has changed the deal, lest Allah replace you with someone else. So watch what you do and I shall try my best to fulfill the mission that Allah has enjoyed on me."

"Allah has commanded rulers to be shepherds; He did not command them to be money-collectors. The attitude of the earliest leaders of this Ummah was that of shepherds, not money-collectors. Soon you will find your leaders becoming money-collectors, not shepherds. Once that happens, there will be no more modesty, trustworthiness or honesty. The best way of running the people's affairs is to examine the Muslims' situation, find out what their dues are and give them to them, and take from them what is due from them. Then go to ahl al-dhimmah and give them what is due to them and take from them what is due from them. Then confront the enemy and seek to defeat them by means of sincerity."

"I have been given a responsibility and I have accepted it. Verily I am a follower (of the Sunnah and not an innovator. I promise you that in addition to following the Book of Allah (Quran) and the Sunnah of His Prophet (Muhammad), I will do three other things: following the example of those who came before me with regard to what you have agreed upon and decided, and what is decided by good people openly, and not interfering with you except when a hadd punishment is required. This world is tempting and it makes itself attractive to people, so that many people, so that many people are inclined towards it. Do not be content with this world and do not put your trust in it, for it is not trustworthy. Understand that these worldly temptations will not go away unless you ignore them."

"Enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil. No believer should subject himself to humiliation, for I will be with the weak against the strong so long as he has been wronged, Insha'Allah"

"O people, the first day is difficult but if I live I shall deliver a proper speech."

"Everything has something to undermine it, and every blessing has something to diminish it. The thing that undermines this religion and diminishes this blessing is those who criticize a great deal and those who stab in the back; they show you what you want to see and they conceal that which you dislike. They are wicked like ostiches."

"It is sufficient for you that the one who envies you is distressed at the time of your joy."

"Concern with this world is darkness in the heart, but concern with the Hereafter is light in the heart."

"Things may be achieved by means of authority that cannot be achieved by means of the Quran."

"No one conceals something in his heart, but Allah causes it to be seen on his face or in a slip of the tongue."

"Gross National Happiness, or GNH, evolved over centuries in Bhutan but was launched formally in 1972 as an economic alternative by then-King Jigme Singye Wangchuck. At the time, he was criticized for overseeing the stagnation of one of the world's smallest economies based mainly on agriculture and forestry. As a result, the former king shifted focus of development from productivity to human well-being in four areas: sustainable economic development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conservation of the environment, and good governance. Since then, government policy in Bhutan has been guided by GNH principles in a succession of five-year plans"

"All Bhutanese know about the king’s passion for cycling, to which he has increasingly devoted his spare time since December 2006, when he relinquished the crown to his eldest son. In Thimphu, many tell tales of close encounters, or near-misses — the time they pulled over their car to chat with the bicycling monarch, the time they spotted him, or someone who looked quite like him, on an early-morning ride... The fourth king is the most beloved figure in modern Bhutanese history, with a biography that has the flavor of myth. He became Bhutan’s head of state in 1972 when he was just 16 years old."

"His Majesty, as a young king, would engage in conversation with civil servants, policy makers, and the citizens very frequently... It was during these unrecorded and informal occasions, over campfires, during his travels throughout the country that His Majesty repeatedly alluded to the need for the government and the leaders to aspire to give to the people what they needed and desired most and that is happiness... At that time, it did not strike most of us as an extraordinarily wise and unique statement as it has now become. We all took it as something obvious and it wasn’t taken as an extraordinarily unique statement."