"To be feared is much safer than to be loved."

"Politics have no relation to morals."

"The promises of men are not to be relied on, unless they are made under such circumstances that the promiser cannot break them without ruin."

"He who desires to found a state and give it laws, must start with the assumption that all men are bad, and ever ready to display their vicious nature, whenever they may find occasion for it."

"Men are generally so simple and so ready to obey present necessities, that one who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived."