Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord quotes

Speech has been given to man to disguise his thoughts. (Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord)
War is much too serious a thing to be left to military men. View quote
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
To succeed in the world, it is much more necessary to possess the penetration to discern who is a fool, than to discover who is a clever man. View quote
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
The art of putting the right men in the right places is first in the science of government; but that of finding places for the discontented is the most difficult. View quote
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
Black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, sweet as love. View quote
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
Whoever did not live in the years neighboring 1789 does not know what the pleasure of living means. View quote
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
Never speak ill of yourself, your friends will always say enough on that subject. View quote
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
Since the masses are always eager to believe something, for their benefit nothing is so easy to arrange as facts. View quote
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
Beauty, devoid of grace, is a mere hook without the bait. View quote
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
I know where there is more wisdom than is found in Napoleon, Voltaire, or all the ministers present and to come - in public opinion. View quote
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
It is worse than a crime, it is a mistake. (Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord)
If we go on explaining we shall cease to understand one another. View quote
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
Love of glory can only create a great hero; contempt of glory creates a great man. View quote
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
The reputation of a man is like his shadow, gigantic when it precedes him, and pigmy in its proportions when it follows. View quote
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
Merit, however inconsiderable, should be sought for and rewarded. Methods are the master of masters. View quote
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
Too much sensibility creates unhappiness and too much insensibility creates crime. View quote
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
It is not an event; it is a piece of news. View quote
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
What clever man has ever needed to commit a crime? Crime is the last resort of political half-wits. View quote
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
She is such a good friend that she would throw all her acquaintances into the water for the pleasure of fishing them out again. View quote
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
I am more afraid of an army of 100 sheep led by a lion than an army of 100 lions led by a sheep. View quote
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
Without freedom of the press, there can be no representative government. (Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord)
Show me another pleasure like dinner which comes every day and lasts an hour. View quote
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
A court is an assembly of noble and distinguished beggars. View quote
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
Mistrust first impulses; they are nearly always good. View quote
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
The art of statesmanship is to foresee the inevitable and to expedite its occurrence. View quote
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord