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Of all pitiful parts, there is none more pitiful than for passing for more than one really is. And it is the fate of monarchy that this misfortune inevitably clings to it. For barely once in a thousand years, does there arise among the people a man who is a king not merely in name, but in reality.

— Theodor Mommsen

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More quotes by Theodor Mommsen

Hypocrisy is the homage that vice pays to virtue.

Absolute power by virtue of its very nature withdraws itself from all specification.

Posterity has justified more the policy of conquest than that of concession.

The art of measuring brings the world into subjection to man.

Mankind have infinite difficulty in reaching new creations, and therefore cherish the once developed forms as sacred heirlooms.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Theodor Mommsen (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.