When Paris catches cold, all Europe sneezes.

Italy is a geographical expression.

History is the true school of politics.

What I wanted was simple: to preserve what existed.

I used to measure the heavens, now I measure the shadows of Earth.

-- Johannes Kepler

If heaven had granted me five more years, I could have become a real painter.

-- Katsushika Hokusai

I have conquered twenty-four cities, each with their surrounding districts.

-- Mansa Musa

My predecessors ruled but I know nothing about them, and so I do what I do that people may remember me.

-- Mansa Musa

Gentlemen, life is short. Never waste your mind on trivial matters. Study much, work much, think much, laugh much.

-- Ōkuma Shigenobu

Nothing is more impossible than what Napoleon faced.

-- Ōkuma Shigenobu