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Heaven absolves all crimes committed to gain a throne
Once Heaven gives it to us.

— Pierre Corneille Cinna (1641)

Tous ces crimes d'État qu'on fait pour la couronne,
Le ciel nous en absout alors qu'il nous la donne.

Original text (French)

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Notes from Wikiquote

Livie, act V, scene ii.

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.