Catherine the Great

I shall be an autocrat: that’s my trade. And the good Lord will forgive me: that’s his.

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.

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.

Don’t worry about things you cannot alter.

I am one of the people who love the why of things.

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.

As usual, there is a great woman behind every idiot.

People who have nothing to hide, hide nothing. You should be an open book, be transparent.

In Nevada, for a time, the lawyer, the editor, the banker, the chief desperado, the chief gambler, and the saloon-keeper occupied the same level of society, and it was the highest.

Writing is good, thinking is better. Cleverness is good, patience is better.

Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.

“He who angers you, conquers you.” – Elizabeth Kenny

Be not afraid of going slowly, be afraid only of standing still.

We have enough in our country to let us deep into the springs of human life if we only cherished what we have.

Those are my principles. If you don’t like them I have others.

The whole secret of a successful life is to find out what is one’s destiny to do, and then do it.

A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.

Success means different things in different parts of my life, but overall if I have to define ultimately what success means – the bottom line – then for me it’s if the family is healthy and happy.

The remains of the old must be decently laid away; the path of the new prepared. That is the difference between Revolution and Progress.

To be a leader, you must stand for something, or you will fall for anything.

Beware of monotony; it’s the mother of all the deadly sins.