Zitate von Katharina II., die Große
Katharina II., die Große
Geburtstag: 21. April 1729
Todesdatum: 17. November 1796
Andere Namen: Kateřina II. Ruská, Екатерина II Великая, Katharina II., die Große
Katharina II., genannt Katharina die Große , war ab dem 9. Juli 1762 Kaiserin von Russland und ab 1793 Herrin von Jever. Sie ist die einzige Herrscherin, der in der Geschichtsschreibung der Beiname die Große verliehen wurde. Katharina II. ist eine Repräsentantin des aufgeklärten Absolutismus.
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Zitate Katharina II., die Große
„The Laws ought to be so framed, as to secure the Safety of every Citizen as much as possible.“
— Catherine the Great
Proposals for a New Law Code (1768), Context: The Laws ought to be so framed, as to secure the Safety of every Citizen as much as possible.<!-- Item 33
„A great wind is blowing and that either gives you imagination… or a headache.“
— Catherine the Great
As quoted in Daughters of Eve (1930) by Gamaliel Bradford, p. 192
„You philosophers are lucky men. You write on paper and paper is patient. Unfortunate Empress that I am, I write on the susceptible skins of living beings.“
— Catherine the Great
Letter to Denis Diderot, as quoted in The Affairs of Women : A Modern Miscellany (2006) by Colin Bingham
„It is better to be subject to the Laws under one Master, than to be subservient to many.“
— Catherine the Great
Proposals for a New Law Code (1768)
„The Grand Duke appeared to rejoice at the arrival of my mother and myself. I was in my fifteenth year. During the first ten days he paid me much attention. Even then and in that short time, I saw and understood that he did not care much for the nation that he was destined to rule, and that he clung to Lutheranism, did not like his entourage, and was very childish.“
— Catherine the Great
Memoirs, Context: The Grand Duke appeared to rejoice at the arrival of my mother and myself. I was in my fifteenth year. During the first ten days he paid me much attention. Even then and in that short time, I saw and understood that he did not care much for the nation that he was destined to rule, and that he clung to Lutheranism, did not like his entourage, and was very childish. I remained silent and listened, and this gained me his trust. I remember him telling me that among other things, what pleased him most about me was that I was his second cousin, and that because I was related to him, he could speak to me with an open heart. Then he told me that he was in love with one of the Empress’s maids of honor, who had been dismissed from court because of the misfortune of her mother, one Madame Lopukhina, who had been exiled to Siberia, that he would have liked to marry her, but that he was resigned to marry me because his aunt desired it. I listened with a blush to these family confidences, thanking him for his ready trust, but deep in my heart I was astonished by his imprudence and lack of judgment in many matters.
„The Usage of Torture is contrary to all the Dictates of Nature and Reason; even Mankind itself cries out against it, and demands loudly the total Abolition of it.“
— Catherine the Great
Proposals for a New Law Code (1768), Context: The Usage of Torture is contrary to all the Dictates of Nature and Reason; even Mankind itself cries out against it, and demands loudly the total Abolition of it. <!-- Item 123
„To tempt, and to be tempted, are things very nearly allied“
— Catherine the Great
Memoirs, Context: To tempt, and to be tempted, are things very nearly allied, and, in spite of the finest maxims of morality impressed upon the mind, whenever feeling has anything to do in the matter, no sooner is it excited than we have already gone vastly farther than we are aware of, and I have yet to learn how it is possible to prevent its being excited.
Flight alone is, perhaps, the only remedy; but there are cases and circumstances in which flight becomes impossible, for how is it possible to fly, shun, or turn one's back in the midst of a court? The very attempt would give rise to remarks. Now, if you do not fly, there is nothing, it seems to me, so difficult as to escape from that which is essentially agreeable. All that can be said in opposition to it will appear but a prudery quite out of harmony with the natural instincts of the human heart; besides, no one holds his heart in his hand, tightening or relaxing his grasp of it at pleasure. <!-- Appleton &Co., 1850 p. 280
„Equality requires Institutions so well adapted, as to prevent the Rich from oppressing those who are not so wealthy as themselves“
— Catherine the Great
Proposals for a New Law Code (1768), Context: The Equality of the Citizens consists in this; that they should all be subject to the same Laws.
This Equality requires Institutions so well adapted, as to prevent the Rich from oppressing those who are not so wealthy as themselves, and converting all the Charges and Employments intrusted to them as Magistrates only, to their own private Emolument.... <!-- Items 34 - 35
„The more a man knows, the more he forgives.“
— Catherine the Great
Misattributed, Widely attributed to Catherine II online, this has been attributed to Confucius in published books, but no print sources attribute this to Catherine.
„Your wit makes others witty.“
— Catherine the Great
Letter to Voltaire, as quoted in Short Sayings of Great Men : With Historical and Explanatory Notes (1882) by Samuel Arthur Bent, and Hoyt's New Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations (1922) revised and enlarged by Kate Loise Roberts
„A Society of Citizens, as well as every Thing else, requires a certain fixed Order: There ought to be some to govern, and others to obey. And this is the Origin of every Kind of Subjection; which feels itself more or less alleviated, in Proportion to the Situation of the Subjects. And, consequently, as the Law of Nature commands Us to take as much Care, as lies in Our Power, of the Prosperity of all the People; we are obliged to alleviate the Situation of the Subjects, as much as sound Reason will permit. And therefore, to shun all Occasions of reducing People to a State of Slavery, except the utmost Necessity should inevitably oblige us to do it; in that Case, it ought not to be done for our own Benefit; but for the Interest of the State: Yet even that Case is extremely uncommon. Of whatever Kind Subjection may be, the civil Laws ought to guard, on the one Hand, against the Abuse of Slavery, and, on the other, against the Dangers which may arise from it.“
— Catherine the Great
Proposals for a New Law Code (1768)
„No Man ought to be looked upon as guilty, before he has received his judicial Sentence; nor can the Laws deprive him of their Protection, before it is proved that he has forfeited all Right to it. What Right therefore can Power give to any to inflict Punishment upon a Citizen at a Time, when it is yet dubious, whether he is Innocent or guilty?“
— Catherine the Great
Proposals for a New Law Code (1768), Item 194.1
„A Man ought to form in his own Mind an exact and clear Idea of what Liberty is. Liberty is the Right of doing whatsoever the Laws allow: And if any one Citizen could do what the Laws forbid, there would be no more Liberty; because others would have an equal Power of doing the same.“
— Catherine the Great
Proposals for a New Law Code (1768), Item 38
„What is the true End of Monarchy? Not to deprive People of their natural Liberty; but to correct their Actions, in order to attain the supreme Good.
The Form of Government, therefore, which best attains this End, and at the same Time sets less Bounds than others to natural Liberty, is that which coincides with the Views and Purposes of rational Creatures, and answers the End, upon which we ought to fix a steadfast Eye in the Regulations of civil Polity.“
— Catherine the Great
Proposals for a New Law Code (1768)
