I am a monarch of God's creation, and you reptiles of the earth dare not oppose me. I render an account of my government to none save God and Jesus Christ.

I did not usurp the crown. I picked it up from the gutter; the people placed it on my head. I was king of the people as the Bourbons are kings of the nobles.

All authority is in the throne; and what is the throne? This wooden frame covered with velvet? No, I am the throne.

One must change one's tactics every ten years if one wishes to maintain one's superiority.

Europe is a molehill. It has never had any great empires, like those of the Orient, numbering six hundred million souls.

I am the successor, not of Louis XVI, but of Charlemagne.