43 quotes
French political thinker and historian, minister of Foreign Affairs (1805-1859)
“America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”
"Society is endangered not by the great profligacy of a few, but by the laxity of morals amongst all."
on Social Justice
"Men will not accept truth at the hands of their enemies, and truth is seldom offered to them by their friends"
on Truth
"Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot."
on Freedom
"The most dangerous moment for a bad government is when it begins to reform."
on Politics
"We succeed in enterprises which demand the positive qualities we possess but we excel in those which can also make use of our defects."
on Success
"We succeed in enterprises which demand the positive qualities we possess, but we excel in those which can also make use of our defects."
"Americans are so enamored of equality that they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom."
"The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults."
on Wisdom
"Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith."
"When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness."
on Knowledge
"Nations as well as men require time to learn, whatever may be their intelligence or zeal."
on Learning
"There is a natural prejudice which prompts men to despise whomsoever has been their inferior long after he has become their equal."
on Discrimination
"The surface of American society is covered with a layer of democracy, from beneath which the old aristocratic colors sometimes peep."
on Democracy
"Durability is one of the chief elements of strength. Nothing is either loved or feared but that which is likely to endure."
on Strength
"The happy and powerful do not go into exile, and there are no surer guarantees of equality among men than poverty and misfortune."
on Inequality
"[Patriotism] is in itself a kind of religion: it does not reason, but it acts from the impulse of faith and sentiment."
on Faith
"In politics a community of hatred is almost always the foundation of friendships."
on Friendship
"There are two things which a democratic people will always find very difficult - to begin a war and to end it."
on War
"The health of a democratic society may be measured by the quality of functions performed by private citizens."
"There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle."
