Generally speaking, only simple conceptions can grip the mind of a nation. An idea that is clear and precise even though false will always have greater power in the world than an idea that is true but complex.
ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLEThe last thing a political party gives up is its vocabulary.
More Alexis de Tocqueville Quotes
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I have only one passion, the love of liberty and human dignity.
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Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.
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America is great because she is good.
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The most perilous moment for a bad government is when it seeks to mend its ways. Only consummate statecraft can enable a king to save his throne when, after a long spell of oppression, he sets out to improve the lot of his subjects.
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The health of a democratic society may be measured by the quality of functions performed by private citizens.
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Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.
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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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It is easier for the world to accept a simple lie than a complex truth.
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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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Christianity is the companion of liberty in all its conflicts, the cradle of its infancy, and the divine source of its claims.
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There is hardly a political question in the United States which does not sooner or later turn into a judicial one.
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I vow that I do not hold that complete and instantaneous love for the freedom of the press that one accords to things whose nature is unqualifiedly good. I love it out of consideration for the evils it prevents much more than for the good it does.
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The tie of language is perhaps the strongest and the most durable that can unite mankind.
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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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Those which we call necessary institutions are simply no more than institutions to which we have become accustomed.
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