A minimax principle is derived for the eigenvalues in the spectral gap of a possibly non-semibounded self-adjoint operator. It allows the nth eigenvalue of the Dirac operator with Coulomb potential from below to be bound by the nth eigenvalue of a semibounded Hamiltonian which is of interest in the context of stability of matter. As a second application it is shown that the Dirac operator with suitable non-positive potential has at least as many discrete eigenvalues as the Schrödinger operator with the same potential.