What is it, in your opinion, to be a great nobleman? It is to be master of several objects that men covet, and thus to be able to satisfy the wants and the desires of many. It is these
wants and these desires that attract them towards you, and that make them submit to you: were it not for these, they would not even look at you; but they hope, by these services... to obtain
from you some part of the good which they desire, and of which they see that you have the disposal.
What is it, in your opinion, ...
Quotes from the same author
We are all something, but none of us are everything.
The heart has its reasons which reason knows not of.
Imagination disposes of everything; it creates beauty, justice, and happiness, which are everything in this world.
Man is equally incapable of seeing the nothingness from which he emerges and the infinity in which he is engulfed.
The least movement is of importance to all nature. The entire ocean is affected by a pebble.