“Human laws made to direct the will ought to give precepts, and not counsels.”

Republics end through luxury; monarchies through poverty.

A really intelligent man feels what other men only know.

The less luxury there is in a republic, the more it is perfect.

It is rare to find learned men who are clean, do not stink and have a sense of humour.

I have never known any distress that an hour’s reading did not relieve.

Every man who has power is impelled to abuse it.

I like peasants-they are not sophisticated enough to reason speciously.

There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice.

The history of commerce is that of the communication of the people.

Republics are brought to their ends by luxury; monarchies by poverty.

Better it is to say that the government most comfortable to nature is that which best agrees with the humor and disposition of the people in whose favor it is established.

If I knew something that would serve my country but would harm mankind, I would never reveal it; for I am a citizen of humanity first and by necessity, and a citizen of France second, and only by accident

I never listen to calumnies, because if they are untrue I run the risk of being deceived, and if they be true, of hating persons not worth thinking about.

I have always observed that to succeed in the world one should seem a fool, but be wise.

In the birth of societies it is the chiefs of states who give it its special character; and afterward it is this special character that forms the chiefs of state.

In the infancy of societies, the chiefs of state shape its institutions; later the institutions shape the chiefs of state.

Realist writing, of which history offers many widely varying examples, is likewise conditioned by the question of how, when and for what class it is made use of.

Some of our jokes we made up on the fly. I love Lecrae; we have been friends for a while and he is just one of my favorite people.

What else but our own sturdy reliance on freedom can explain the unexampled record this country has made?

Jesus, what made You so small? LOVE!

I think all my pictures are ideas, and they’re ideas made into images.

I do admit there have been times when I have made a statement that was incorrect.

“Into the Woods” was… a lot of running around in the woods! I can’t wait to see the show again. People didn’t realize it back then, but kids still come up to me-young people-and they talk about it. It really made its mark.

I was made to be where I’m at. I just had to go through some challenges, so that I can educate others later.