Speaking of Quotes from the Early 1800s …

Let me offer two more (besides the one about Queen Caroline), which came to mind when contemplating the most recent talk of impeachment. First, credited to Napoleon:

When the enemy is making a false movement we must take good care not to interrupt him.

Second, credited to a French official of the era (though apparently not Talleyrand):

It is worse than a crime, it is a mistake.

Just some multipurpose lines that I've long liked, offered for whatever meaning you might find in them. (As with all such lines, analogies to a current situation are never perfect, and many distinctions can always be drawn; the question is whether there is still enough of a connection to inspire some insight.)