The last thing a political party gives up is its vocabulary.
ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLEAll those who seek to destroy the liberties of a democratic nation ought to know that war is the surest and shortest means to accomplish it.
More Alexis de Tocqueville Quotes
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One of the most ordinary weaknesses of the human intellect is to seek to reconcile contrary principles, and to purchase peace at the expense of logic.
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To remain silent is the most useful service that a mediocre speaker can render to the public good.
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A man’s admiration of absolute government is proportionate to the contempt he feels for those around him.
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Equality is a slogan based on envy. It signifies in the heart of every republican: “Nobody is going to occupy a place higher than I.”
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If I were asked to what the singular prosperity and growing strength of Americans ought mainly to be attributed, I should reply: To the superiority of their women.
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It is easier for the world to accept a simple lie than a complex truth.
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This so-called tolerance, which, in my opinion, is nothing but a huge indifference.
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The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.
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Rulers who destroy men’s freedom commonly begin by trying to retain its forms. … They cherish the illusion that they can combine the prerogatives of absolute power with the moral authority that comes from popular assent.
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When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness.
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A democratic government is the only one in which those who vote for a tax can escape the obligation to pay it.
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The surface of American society is covered with a layer of democratic paint, but from time to time one can see the old aristocratic colours breaking through.
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The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.
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The more government takes the place of associations, the more will individuals lose the idea of forming associations and need the government to come to their help. That is a vicious circle of cause and effect.
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All those who seek to destroy the liberties of a democratic nation ought to know that war is the surest and shortest means to accomplish it.
ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE