The best laws cannot make a constitution work in spite of morals; morals can turn the worst laws to advantage.
ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLEThere are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle.
More Alexis de Tocqueville Quotes
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If an American was condemned to confine his activity to his own affairs, he would be robbed of one half of his existence.
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America is great because she is good.
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This so-called tolerance, which, in my opinion, is nothing but a huge indifference.
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It is easier for the world to accept a simple lie than a complex truth.
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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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In the principle of equality I very clearly discern two tendencies; one leading the mind of every man to untried thoughts, the other prohibiting him from thinking at all.
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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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Slavery…dishonors labor. It introduces idleness into society, and with idleness, ignorance and pride, luxury and distress. It enervates the powers of the mind and benumbs the activity of man.
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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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Those who prize freedom only for the material benefits it offers have never kept it for long.
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I do not know if the people of the United States would vote for superior men if they ran for office, but there can be no doubt that such men do not run.
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America is a country where they have freedom of speech but everyone says the same thing.
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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 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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There is no country in the world where the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America.
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