About Charles Maurice de Talleyrand:
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord was a French bishop, politician and diplomat. Due to a lame leg, he was not able to pursue the military career that had originally been foreseen for him by his family. Instead he studied theology. In 1780, he became 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. Those he served often distrusted Talleyrand but, like Napoleon, found him extremely useful. The name "Talleyrand" has become a byword for crafty, cynical diplomacy.
The art of statesmanship is to foresee the inevitable and to expedite its occurrence.
Charles Maurice de TalleyrandWithout freedom of the press, there can be no representative government.
Charles Maurice de TalleyrandLove of glory can only create a great hero; contempt of glory creates a great man.
Charles Maurice de TalleyrandI am more afraid of an army of 100 sheep led by a lion than an army of 100 lions led by a sheep.
Charles Maurice de TalleyrandMerit, however inconsiderable, should be sought for and rewarded. Methods are the master of masters.
Charles Maurice de TalleyrandToo much sensibility creates unhappiness and too much insensibility creates crime.
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand