Had Luther and Calvin been confined before they had begun to dogmatize, the states would have been spared many troubles..

Who will be my equal?.

Secrecy is the first essential in affairs of state..

To mislead a rival, deception is permissable; one may use all means against his enemies..

One must believe neither the people of the palace, who ordinarily measure the power of the king by the shape of his crown, which, being round, has no….

When people are too comfortable, it is not possible to restrain them within the bounds of their duty? They may be compared to mules who, being accust….

To know how to dissemble is the knowledge of kings. [Fr., Savoir dissimuler est le savoir des rois.].

Give me six lines written by the most honorable person alive, and I shall find enough in them to condemn them to the gallows..

Deception is the knowledge of kings..

Nothing is as dangerous for the state as those who would govern kingdoms with maxims found in books..

Nothing so upholds the laws as the punishment of persons whose rank is as great as their crime..

If God forbade drinking, would He have made wine so good?.

Bakers of bread rolls and pastry cooks will not buy grain before eleven o'clock in winter and noon in summer..

Harshness towards individuals who flout the laws and commands of the state is for the public good; no greater crime against the public interest is po….

A single word has sometimes lost or won an empire..

If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him..

Never write a letter and never destroy one..

Did you think I was immortal?.

Carry on any enterprise as if all future success depended on it..

To know how to disguise is the knowledge of kings..

Bakers of bread rolls and pastry cooks will not buy grain before eleven o'clock in winter and noon in summer; bakers of large loaves will not buy gra….