Catherine the Great

I like to be praised, but I like to be praised for what I really am, not for what I am not.

A great many people are anxious to be famous, but few are willing to pay the price.

I came to Russia a poor princess, and I shall leave it a rich empress.

I will reign or I will perish.

Power without limits is a dream, but power with absolute limits is a nightmare.

I can only imagine what posterity will say of me.

I shall die as I have lived, with a good conscience.

I consider myself an artist. My canvas is Russia.

I have always been convinced that the true wealth of a state consists in its population.

The best way to govern is to make people believe that they are governing themselves.

I like to be loved, and I am not ashamed of it.

I detest war, but I love glory.

To conquer a country, one must first conquer its people.

I have lived a long life, and I have seen many things, but I have never seen a man who was not afraid of a woman.

I prefer to be feared than loved, if I cannot be both.

I was born to rule.

The only way to enjoy life is to love what you do.

I have loved men, but I have never allowed them to rule me.

The greatest happiness is to be able to live for one's country.

I have always been a good politician, even when I was a bad woman.