Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
The speaker claims they could encompass the whole of Paris within the city of Ghent, suggesting a sense of pride in their domain.
In plain terms
I could hold Paris inside Ghent.
What can you take from it?
Show confidence in the breadth of your realm.

Where it applies

  • political speeches
  • personal boasting

Putting it to work

  • assert dominance
  • highlight expansion

Questions to consider

  • What does it mean to 'fit' one city in another?
  • Does size always equal power?

Another view

It may be hyperbolic rather than literal.

More from Holy Roman Emperor Charles V

  1. I was managed and governed by M. de Chievres, and I was not old enough to know these Kingdoms or experienced enough to govern them. And as I left immediately f…

    Permalink to quote #6

  2. I see that luck resembles women: it prefers a young king than an old emperor.

    Permalink to quote #8

  3. I make war on the living, not on the dead.

    Permalink to quote #5

Related quotes

  1. Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.

    Lloyd BentsenLloyd Bentsen quote #1

  2. There is no more Palestine. Finished . . .

    Moshe DayanMoshe Dayan quote #1

  3. Our well-founded claim, grounded on continuity, has greatly strengthened, during the same period, by the rapid advance of our population toward the territory-i…

    John C. CalhounJohn C. Calhoun quote #5