There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle.
ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLEOne 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.
More Alexis de Tocqueville Quotes
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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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Despotism often presents itself as the repairer of all the ills suffered, the support of just rights, defender of the oppressed, and founder of order.
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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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Life is to be entered upon with courage.
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Any measure that establishes legal charity on a permanent basis and gives it an administrative form thereby creates an idle and lazy class, living at the expense of the industrial and working class.
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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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I should have loved freedom, I believe, at all times, but in the time in which we live I am ready to worship it.
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Everybody feels the evil, but no one has courage or energy enough to seek the cure.
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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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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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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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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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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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