Always assume incompetence before looking for a conspiracy.

Never was anything great achieved without danger.

There is no surer sign of decay in a country than to see the rites of religion held in contempt.

The wise man does at once what the fool does finally.

Never do an enemy a small injury.

Politics have no relation to morals.

The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.

Power is the pivot on which everything hinges. He who has the power is always right; the weaker is always wrong.

it is better to act and repent than not to act and regret.

A government which does not trust its citizens to be armed is not itself to be trusted.

Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.

A sign of intelligence is an awareness of one's own ignorance.

What men value in this world is not rights but privileges.

An idealist notices that roses smell better than cabbage and concludes that it will also make better soup.

The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true deserts.

Journalism is to politician as dog is to lamp-post.

A man may be a fool and not know it, but not if he is married.

In every woman's life, there is one real and consuming love. But very few women guess which one it is.

The final test of truth is ridicule. Very few dogmas have ever faced it and survived.