79 quotes
The arts, in general, need a king; they only flourish under the influence of sceptres.
Against Rousseau (1795)
Religious beauty is superior to ideal beauty, since it is the ideal of the ideal.
An Examination of the Philosophy of Francis Bacon (1836)
It is always necessary to call men back to history, which is the first master in politics, or more exactly the only master.
Against Rousseau (1795)
Every nation gets the government it deserves.
A woman can only be superior as a woman; as soon as she wants to emulate man, she is nothing but an ape.
I am a perfect stranger to France, which I have never seen, and I expect nothing from her king, whom I shall never know.
Considerations on France (1796)
Every nation, like every individual, has received a mission that it must fulfil.
Considerations on France (1796)
Men gather the clouds, and then they complain of the tempests that follow.
Considerations on France (1796)
There is no chastisement that does not purify; there is no disorder that ETERNAL LOVE does not turn against the principle of evil.
Considerations on France (1796)
Men do not lead the revolution; it is the Revolution that uses men.
Considerations on France (1796)
If Providence erases, it is no doubt in order to write.
Considerations on France (1796)
Providence has already begun the punishment of the guilty; more than sixty regicides, the most guilty among them, have already died a violent death.
Considerations on France (1796)
The vices are very justly man's executioners.
Considerations on France (1796)
I don’t know what the life of a rascal is like since I have never been one, but that of an honest man is abominable.
How strange is the blindness of men in our age! They boast of their knowledge, and are ignorant of everything, since they are ignorant of themselves.
Essay on the Generative Principle of Political Constitutions (1809)
Providence has given the French nation precisely two instruments, two arms, so to speak, with which it stirs up the world – the French language and the spirit of proselytism that forms the essence of the nation's character.
Considerations on France (1796)
There is a great analogy between grace and genius, for genius is a grace. The real man of genius is the one who acts by grace or by impulsion, without ever contemplating himself and without ever saying to himself: Yes! It is by grace that I act.
An Examination of the Philosophy of Francis Bacon (1836)
To burn a city, there is needed only a child or a madman; but to rebuild it, architects, materials, workmen, money, and especially time, will be required.
Essay on the Generative Principle of Political Constitutions (1809)
A constitution that is made for all nations is made for none.
Wherever an altar is found, there civilization exists.
St. Petersburg Dialogues (1821)