The whole territory of the Netherlands was girt with forests.

A soil, exhausted by the long culture of Pagan empires, was to lie fallow for a still longer period.

The ferocious inroads of the Normans scared many weak and timid persons into servitude.

For a century longer, Rome still retains its outward form, but the swarming nations are now in full career.

When did one man ever civilize a people?

Give us the luxuries of life, and we will dispense with its necessaries.

History shows how feeble are barriers of paper.

In Gaul were two orders, the nobility and the priesthood, while the people, says Caesar, were all slaves.

The crusades made great improvement in the condition of the serfs.

With the Germans, the sovereignty resided in the great assembly of the people.

A good lawyer is a bad Christian.

A terrible animal, indeed, is an unbridled woman.

The history of the Franks becomes, therefore, the history of the Netherlands.

Wealth brings strength, strength confidence.

The sword - the first, for a time the only force: the force of iron.

A new civilization was not to be improvised by a single mind.

Thus again the Netherlands, for the first time since the fall of Rome, were united under one crown imperial. They had already been once united, in their slavery to Rome.

The gigantic Gaul derided the Roman soldiers as a band of pigmies.

The splendid empire of Charles the Fifth was erected upon the grave of liberty.

Enthusiasm could not supply the place of experience.

A third force, developing itself more slowly, becomes even more potent than the rest: the power of gold.

Thus the liberties of Holland and Flanders waxed, daily, stronger.

Thus the whole country was broken into many shreds and patches of sovereignty.

The rise of the Dutch Republic must ever be regarded as one of the leading events of modern times.

The whole territory of the Netherlands was girt with forests.

In the tenth century the old Batavian and later Roman forms have faded away.

Justice is always violent to the party offending, for every man is innocent in his own eyes.

In any war, the first casualty is common sense, and the second is free and open discussion.

It's hard to say conversation has become a minimal thing, because look at the rise of mobile communications in the last 10 years. It used to be only the president had a mobile phone. Now everyone on earth, even if they have nothing else, they have a cell phone.

The strength of the vampire is that people will not believe in him.

I don't think I live the lifestyle that's expected of a quote unquote R&B artist. I'm just not that dude.

I've played so many historical characters because most horrible dictators are short, fat, middle-aged men.

I think beautiful independent films are made, and I think they're as close to what theater can be because they're not loaded with all of the extra stuff. It's human, and it's more organic, but theater is very unique... It's a different connection altogether.

A good compromise, a good piece of legislation, is like a good sentence; or a good piece of music. Everybody can recognize it. They say, 'Huh. It works. It makes sense.'

I want to set up orphanages for underprivileged and abused children.

I don't care about what people might call my style. It's just like when people call my music 'jangly,' 'dream,' 'oceanside,' whatever - I don't care. I'm just wearing whatever I can scrap together.

Hillary Clinton and John Kerry have left the U.S. with better relations with Iran and Cuba and worse relations with allies like Israel.

The media is not at all homogeneous in the way it tells us about war.

The holiday season is a perfect time to reflect on our blessings and seek out ways to make life better for those around us.

It is twice the pleasure to deceive the deceiver.

A young fella snuck out on to the field somehow, but when he was coming up to give me a hug, he got smoked by the guard. He was lucky the guy didn't break his ribs.

I'm not proud of it, but I'm a great liar when I travel. I smile and lie, and things are smooth.

I represent nine sovereign Sioux tribes. In South Dakota, some of the tribes are in the most remote, rural areas of the country. They lack essential infrastructure. Some communities don't even have clean drinking water.

What we owe future generations is the subject of growing debate by economists, philosophers, ethicists, public policymakers, and academics of all stripes. But for me as a mother, the moral implications are very clear. We owe them clean air and fresh water, a healthy planet and a secure future.

I think it's evident that expensive neighborhoods in Seattle are surrounded by natural beauty. That elevates city life. So if we can make cities more attractive in the long run, we can be smarter about issues like development, zoning and economics.

My mother has a very big family in Shanghai, so I have, like, almost 40 cousins, so we stayed together all the time. So by the time I get to Hong Kong, I become the only child and the only one surrounded by adults, you know.

One in four sub-Saharan Africans is Nigerian, and it has 140 million dynamic people - chaotic people - but very interesting people.

When I throw a curve that hangs and it goes for a hit, I want to chew up my glove.

Liberalism itself has failed, and for a pretty good reason. It has been too often compromised by the people who represented it.