It is not tolerable, it is not possible, that from so much death, so much sacrifice and ruin, so much heroism, a greater and better humanity shall not emerge. I respect only those who resist me, but I cannot tolerate them. A great country worthy of the name does not have any friends. A true leader always keeps an element of surprise up his sleeve, which others cannot grasp but which keeps his public excited and breathless. China is a big country, inhabited by many Chinese. Diplomats are useful only in fair weather. As soon as it rains they drown in every drop. Every man of action has a strong dose of egoism, pride, hardness, and cunning. But all those things will be regarded as high qualities if he can make them the means to achieve great ends. Faced with crisis, the man of character falls back upon himself. How can you be expected to govern a country that has 246 kinds of cheese? I have against me the bourgeois, the military and the diplomats, and for me, only the people who take the Metro. | 
