Catherine the Great famous quotes

The more a man knows, the more he forgives.
-- Catherine the Great

#Inspirational #Men #Forgiving

I beg you take courage; the brave soul can mend even disaster.
-- Catherine the Great

#Courage #Inspirational Life #Bravery

A great wind is blowing, and that gives you either imagination or a headache.
-- Catherine the Great

#Change #Creativity #Ideas

I am one of the people who love the why of things.
-- Catherine the Great

#People

I like to praise and reward loudly, to blame quietly.
-- Catherine the Great

#Rewards #Blame #Quiet

I may be kindly, I am ordinarily gentle, but in my line of business I am obliged to will terribly what I will at all.
-- Catherine the Great

#Lines #May #Gentle

Happiness and unhappiness are in the heart and spirit of each one of us: If you feel unhappy, then place yourself above that and act so that your happiness does not get to be dependent on anything.
-- Catherine the Great

#Heart #Unhappy #Doe

The most sure, but at the same time the most difficult expedient to mend the morals of the people, is a perfect system of education.
-- Catherine the Great

#People #Perfect #Words Of Wisdom

Power without a nation's confidence is nothing.
-- Catherine the Great

#Power

I shall be an autocrat: that's my trade. And the good Lord will forgive me: that's his.
-- Catherine the Great

#Teaching #Forgive Me #Forgiving

What right can give anyone authority to inflict torture upon a citizen when it is still unknown whether he is innocent or guilty?
-- Catherine the Great

#Giving #Citizens #Guilty

The laws ought to be so framed as to secure the safety of every citizen as much as possible. ... Political liberty does not consist in the notion that a man may do whatever he pleases; liberty is the right to do whatsoever the laws allow. ... The equality of the citizens consists in that they should all be subject to the same laws.
-- Catherine the Great

#Men #Law #Safety

I do not love strife, because I have always found that in the end each remains of the same opinion.
-- Catherine the Great

#Opinion #Conflict #Ends

Experience shows that the frequent use of severe punishment has never rendered a people better. The death of a criminal is a less effective means of restraining crimes than the permanent example of a man deprived of his liberty during the whole of his life to make amends for the injury he has done to the public.
-- Catherine the Great

#Mean #Men #People

you must be gay; only thus can life be endured. I speak from experience for I have had to endure much, and have only been able to endure it because I have always laughed whenever I had the chance.
-- Catherine the Great

#Laughter #Gay #Able

bad news travels faster than good.
-- Catherine the Great

#Negativity #News #Faster

I sincerely want peace, not because I lack resources for war, but because I hate bloodshed.
-- Catherine the Great

#Peace #Hate #War

the title of Queen rang sweet to my ears, child though I was. ... This idea of a crown began running in my head then like a tune, and has been running a lot in it ever since.
-- Catherine the Great

#Running #Sweet #Queens

If I may venture to be frank I would say about myself that I was every inch a gentleman ...
-- Catherine the Great

#Gentleman #May #Venture

self-interest usually brings injustice with it.
-- Catherine the Great

#Self #Injustice #Interest

The trouble is that my heart is loath to be without love even for a single hour. ... If you want to keep me forever, then show as much friendship as love, and more than anything else, love me and tell me the truth.
-- Catherine the Great

#Heart #Forever #Want

I cannot live one day without love.
-- Catherine the Great

#One Day

to tempt and be tempted are closely allied; and in spite of all the finest moral maxims buried in the mind, when emotion interferes, when feeling makes its appearance, one is already much further involved that one realizes, and I have still not learnt how to prevent its appearance.
-- Catherine the Great

#Temptation #Feelings #Mind

[On Peter III:] He did not have a bad heart; but a weak man usually has not.
-- Catherine the Great

#Heart #Men #Weakness

The use of torture is contrary to sound judgment and common sense. Humanity itself cries out against it, and demands it to be utterly abolished.
-- Catherine the Great

#Common Sense #Humanity #Sound

All punishments by which the human body might be maimed are barbarbarism.
-- Catherine the Great

#Punishment #Body #Might

it is better to inspire a reform than to enforce it.
-- Catherine the Great

#Change #Inspire #Reform

You were in a mood to quarrel. Please inform me once the inclination passes.
-- Catherine the Great

#Mood #Quarrels #Please

If Russians knew how to read, they would write me off.
-- Catherine the Great

#Writing #Eyebrows

Men make love more intensely at 20, but make love better, however, at 30.
-- Catherine the Great

#Men #Making Love #Wedding Speech

For to tempt and to be tempted are things very nearly allied - whenever feeling has anything to do in the matter, no sooner is it excited than we have already gone vastly farther than we are aware of.
-- Catherine the Great

#Feelings #Temptation #Matter

Your wits make others witty.
-- Catherine the Great

#Witty #Tongue #Wit

In politics a capable ruler must be guided by circumstances, conjectures and conjunctions.
-- Catherine the Great

#Conjecture #Conjunctions #Circumstances

I like to praise and reward in a loud voice and to scold in a whisper.
-- Catherine the Great

#Voice #Rewards #Praise

Don't worry about things you cannot alter
-- Catherine the Great

#Worry

In my position you have to read when you want to write and to talk when you would like to read.
-- Catherine the Great

#Writing #Want #Position

Your wit makes others witty.
-- Catherine the Great

#Witty #Wit

Praise is the only gift for which people are really grateful. Marguerite, Countess of Blessington I praise loudly; I blame softly.
-- Catherine the Great

#Grateful #People #Blame

One does not always do the best there is. One does the best one can.
-- Catherine the Great

#Doe #Doing Your Best

I will live to make myself not feared.
-- Catherine the Great

Assuredly men of merit are never lacking at any time, for those are the men who manage affairs, and it is affairs that produce the men. I have never searched, and I have always found under my hand the men who have served me, and for the most part I have been well served.
-- Catherine the Great

#Men #Hands #Merit

Tell a thousand people to draft a letter, let them debate every phrase, and see how long it takes and what you get.
-- Catherine the Great

#Long #People #Phrases

You should know our mania for building is stronger than ever. It is a diabolical thing. It consumes money and the more you build, the more you want to build. It's a sickness like being addicted to alcohol.
-- Catherine the Great

#Alcohol #Stronger #Want

You philosophers are lucky men. You write on paper and paper is patient. Unfortunate Empress that I am, I write on the susceptible skins of living beings.
-- Catherine the Great

#Writing #Power #Men