Let them hate me, so long as they approve of my conduct.

It is the part of a good shepherd to shear his flock, not to flay it.

Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's.

Let him be a god, so long as he is not alive.

People don't very much like things that are beautiful - they are so far from their nasty little minds.

-- Claude Debussy

Too late! This is fidelity!

-- Nero

Let me have privileges, and you may have honours.

-- Nero

I shall be an autocrat - that is my trade; and the good Lord shall forgive me - that is His.

-- Catherine II of Russia

Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river.

-- Nikita Khrushchev

If there is anyone here whom I have not insulted, I beg his pardon.

-- Johannes Brahms