"Destiny urges me to a goal of which I am ignorant. Until that goal is attained I am invulnerable, unassailable. When Destiny has accomplished her purpose in me, a fly may suffice to destroy me."

"Necessity dominates inclination, will, and right."

"Men have their virtues and their vices, their heroisms and their perversities; men are neither wholly good nor wholly bad, but possess and practice all that there is of good and bad here below. Such is the general rule. Temperament, education, the accidents of life, are modifying factors. Outside of this, everything is ordered arrangement, everything is chance. Such has been my rule of expectation and it has usually brought me success."

"Whatever misanthropists may say, ingrates and the perverse are exceptions in the human species."

"The great mass of society are far from being depraved; for if a large majority were criminal or inclined to break the laws, where would the force or power be to prevent or constrain them? And herein is the real blessing of civilization, because this happy result has its origin in her bosom, growing out of her very nature."

"Imagination governs the world."

"What are we? What is the future? What is the past? What magic fluid envelops us and hides from us the things it is most important for us to know? We are born, we live, and we die in the midst of the marvelous."

"To do all that one is able to do, is to be a man; to do all that one would like to do, would be to be a god."

"Man achieves in life only by commanding the capabilities nature has given him, or by creating them within himself by education and by knowing how to profit by the difficulties encountered."

"It is a mistake, too, to say that the face is the mirror of the soul. The truth is, men are very hard to know, and yet, not to be deceived, we must judge them by their present actions, but for the present only."

"One is more certain to influence men, to produce more effect on them, by absurdities than by sensible ideas."

"It is not true that men never change; they change for the worse, as well as for the better. It is not true they are ungrateful; more often the benefactor rates his favors higher than their worth; and often too he does not allow for circumstances. If few men have the moral force to resist impulses, most men do carry within themselves the germs of virtues as well as of vices, of heroism as well as of cowardice. Such is human nature — education and circumstances do the rest."

"Ordinarily men exercise their memory much more than their judgment."

"There is nothing so imperious as feebleness which feels itself supported by force."

"True character stands the test of emergencies. Do not be mistaken, it is weakness from which the awakening is rude."

"How many seemingly impossible things have been accomplished by resolute men because they had to do, or die."

"The fool has one great advantage over a man of sense — he is always satisfied with himself."

"Simpletons talk of the past, wise men of the present, and fools of the future."

"One must learn to forgive and not to hold a hostile, bitter attitude of mind, which offends those about us and prevents us from enjoying ourselves; one must recognize human shortcomings and adjust himself to them rather than to be constantly finding fault with them."

"It is not necessary to prohibit or encourage oddities of conduct which are not harmful."

"The best way to keep one's word is not to give it."

"In love the only safety is in flight."

"I do not believe it is in our nature to love impartially. We deceive ourselves when we think we can love two beings, even our own children, equally. There is always a dominant affection."

"In politics nothing is immutable. Events carry within them an invincible power. The unwise destroy themselves in resistance. The skillful accept events, take strong hold of them and direct them."

"A constitution should be framed so as not to impede the action of government, nor force the government to its violation."

"The Princes of this house have abandoned their capital, not like soldiers of honour who cede to the circumstances and setbacks of the war, but like the perjured who are pursued by their own remorse."

"What is the government? nothing, unless supported by opinion."

"The greater the man, the less is he opinionative, he depends upon events and circumstances."

"I generally had to give in."

"I will bring the nobles of this Court down so low that they shall be obliged to beg their bread."

"I hope the time is not far off when I shall be able to unite all the wise and educated men of all the countries and establish a uniform regime based on the principles of the Quran which alone are true and which alone can lead men to happiness."

"He who fears being conquered is certain of defeat."

"One can lead a nation only by helping it see a bright outlook. A leader is a dealer in hope."

"Some revolutions are inevitable. There are moral eruptions, just as the outbreak of volcanoes are physical eruptions. When the chemical combinations which produce them are complete, the volcanic eruptions burst forth, just as revolutions do when the moral factors are in the right state. In order to foresee them the trend of ideas must be understandingly observed."

"When you have an enemy in your power, deprive him of the means of ever injuring you."

"Whatever shall we do in that remote spot? Well, we will write our memoirs. Work is the scythe of time."

"The laws of circumstance are abolished by new circumstances."

"Obedience to public authority ought not to be based either on ignorance or stupidity."

"It is rare that a legislature reasons. It is too quickly impassioned."

"Parties weaken themselves by their fear of capable men."

"Democracy may become frenzied, but it has feelings and can be moved. As for aristocracy, it is always cold and never forgives."

"We frustrate many designs against us by pretending not to see them."

"To listen to the interests of all, marks an ordinary government; to foresee them, marks a great government."

"Peace ought to be the result of a system well considered, founded on the true interests of the different countries, honorable to each, and ought not to be either a capitulation or the result of a threat."

"A book in which there were no lies would be a curiosity."

"All men of genius, and all those who have gained rank in the republic of letters, are brothers, whatever may be the land of their nativity."

"It must be recognized that the real truths of history are hard to discover. Happily, for the most part, they are rather matters of curiosity than of real importance."

"They seek to destroy the Revolution by attacking my person: I will defend it for I am the Revolution, I myself! Henceforth they will look to it, for they will know of what we are capable."