Men are moved by two levers only: fear and self interest.

• There are only two forces that unite men - fear and interest.
• If I had to choose a religion, the sun as the universal giver of life would be my god.
• To do all that one is able to do, is to be a man to do all that one would like to do, is to be a god.
• 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.
• 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.