Quotes by Frederick the Great

“Nowadays it is seen as a shame, to marry a girl who is a mother, who has never been married. I want to get rid of that prejudice.”

“Diplomacy without arms is like a concert without a score”

“It is enough", this malicious man tells us, "to extinguish the line of the defeated prince." Can one read this without quivering in horror and indignation?”

“A prince ... is only the first servant of the state, who is obliged to act with probity and prudence. ... As the sovereign is properly the head of a family of citizens, the father of his people, he...”

“If the men were without passions, it would be forgivable to see Machiavel try to give some to them; he would be the new [[Prometheus]] bringing celestial fire to breathe life into robots. But no ma...”

“The cruel man is of misanthropic temperament, and is a man of moods, oscillating from quiet brooding to sudden explosions. If a man like this does not fight this unhappy provision of his soul durin...”

“As to your Newton, I confess I do not understand his void and his gravity; I admit he has demonstrated the movement of the heavenly bodies with more exactitude than his forerunners; but you will ad...”

“He who defends everything defends nothing.”

“Religion is the idol of the mob it adores everything it does not understand.”

“A crown is merely a hat that lets the rain in.”

“What is the good of experience if you do not reflect?”

“An educated people can be easily governed.”

“I love an opposition that has convictions.”

“It is impossible to imitate Voltaire without being Voltaire.”

“Every man must get to heaven his own way.”