A crown is merely a hat that lets the rain in.

— Frederick the Great

An educated people can be easily governed.

— Frederick the Great

A prince ... is only the first servant of the state, who is obliged to act with probity and prudence. ... As the sovereign is properly the head of a family of citizens, the father of his people, he ought on all occasions to be the last refuge of the unfortunate.

— Frederick the Great

As to your Newton, I confess I do not understand his void and his gravity; I admit he has demonstrated the movement of the heavenly bodies with more exactitude than his forerunners; but you will admit it is an absurdity to maintain the existence of No

— Frederick the Great

Diplomacy without arms is like a concert without a score

— Frederick the Great

Every man must get to heaven his own way.

— Frederick the Great

He who defends everything defends nothing.

— Frederick the Great

If the men were without passions, it would be forgivable to see Machiavelli try to give some to them; he would be the new [[Prometheus]] bringing celestial fire to breathe life into robots. But no man is without passions. When they are moderated, they are the heart of the enterprise; but when the brake is stripped of them, they are its destruction.

— Frederick the Great

I love an opposition that has convictions.

— Frederick the Great

It is enough", this malicious man tells us, "to extinguish the line of the defeated prince." Can one read this without quivering in horror and indignation?

— Frederick the Great