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After having won a scepter, few are so generous
As to disdain the pleasures of ruling.

— Pierre Corneille Cinna (1641)

Peu de généreux vont jusqu'à dédaigner,
Après un sceptre acquis, la douceur de régner.

Original text (French)

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Notes from Wikiquote

Maxime, act II, scene i.

More quotes by Pierre Corneille

Brave men are brave from the very first.

Le Cid (1636)

As great as kings may be, they are what we are: they can err like other men.

Le Cid (1636)

Oh, how sweet it is to pity the fate of an enemy, when we have no longer anything to fear from him!

La Mort de Pompée (1643)

Who is all-powerful should fear everything.

Cinna (1641)

He who is insulted has a right to be outraged, as unpunished audacity only increases!

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Attribution

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