Charles Maurice de Talleyrand
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgordʁɑ̃ peʁiɡɔʁ]; 1754–1838), prince de Bénévent, then prince de Talleyrand, was a French bishop, politician and diplomat. After theology studies, he became in 1780 Agent-General of the Clergy and represented the Catholic Church to the French Crown. He worked at the highest levels of successive French governments, most commonly as foreign minister or in some other diplomatic capacity. His career spanned the regimes of Louis XVI, the years of the French Revolution, Napoleon, Louis XVIII, and Louis-Philippe...
NationalityFrench
ProfessionDiplomat
Date of Birth2 February 1754
CountryFrance
The art of statesmanship is to foresee the inevitable and to expedite its occurrence.
A court is an assembly of noble and distinguished beggars.
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.
Mistrust first impulses; they are nearly always good.
Since the masses are always eager to believe something, for their benefit nothing is so easy to arrange as facts.
What clever man has ever needed to commit a crime? Crime is the last resort of political half-wits.
Ones reputation is like a shadow, it is gigantic when it precedes you, and a pigmy in proportion when it follows.
I am more afraid of an army of 100 sheep led by a lion than an army of 100 lions led by a sheep.
Speech was given to man to disguise his thoughts.
Beauty, devoid of grace, is a mere hook without the bait.
Speech has been given to man to disguise his thoughts.
The rich man despises those who flatter him too much, and hates those who do not flatter him at all.
Love of glory can only create a great hero; contempt of glory creates a great man.
A married man with a family will do anything for money.