I have heard him say many a time that he desired nothing but mediocrity, which was a poor compliment, it must be confessed, to us who have the honour of serving him.' 'A clever man at his Court shows his cleverness best by pretending to be dull,' said Caulaincourt, with some bitterness.
'And yet there are many famous characters there,' I remarked.
'If so, it is only by concealing their characters that they remain there.

His ministers are clerks, his generals are superior aides-de-camp.

They are all agents.

You have this wonderful man in the middle, and all around you have so many mirrors which reflect different sides of him.

In one you see him as a financier, and you call it Lebrun.