"I am a true Russian, and I love my country, even though it is a hell."

"I am a man of contradictions, and I love to contradict myself."

"O Monarchs, ye are crowned by will, and law of Man, not Nature's hand. Though ye above the people stand, eternal Law stands higher still."

"The more a man is loved, the less he is understood."

"People are so like their first mother Eve: what they are given doesn't take their fancy. The serpent is forever enticing them to come to him, to the tree of mystery. They must have the forbidden fruit…"