"Men are so simple and so much inclined to obey immediate needs that a deceiver will never lack victims for his deceptions."

"There is no avoiding war; it can only be postponed to the advantage of others."

"A son can bear with equanimity the loss of his father, but the loss of his inheritance may drive him to despair."

"A return to first principles in a republic is sometimes caused by the simple virtues of one man. His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example."

"When ambition meets humility, we find that every failure is just a stepping stone to greatness."

"The distance between ambition and reality is bridged solely by consistent effort. Such is the immutable nature of understanding — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"Men have made a virtue of moderation to limit the ambition of the great, and to console people of mediocrity for their want of fortune and of merit."

"A noble man compares and estimates himself by an idea which is higher than himself; and a mean man, by one lower than himself. The one produces aspiration; the other ambition, which is the way in which a vulgar man aspires."