“Those who want the Government to regulate matters of the mind and spirit are like men who are so afraid of being murdered that they commit suicide to avoid assassination.”
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government
940 quotes
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“In the long-run every Government is the exact symbol of its People, with their wisdom and unwisdom we have to say, Like People; like Government.”
“Nothing turns out to be so oppressive and unjust as a feeble government.”
“And I have no doubt that every new example will succeed, as every past one has done, in showing that religion and Government will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together.”
“War should only be declared by the authority of the people, whose toils and treasures are to support its burdens, instead of the government which is to reap its fruits.”
“No Government can be long secure without a formidable Opposition.”
“That fatal drollery called a representative government.”
“It's a very sobering feeling to be up in space and realize that one's safety factor was determined by the lowest bidder on a government contract.”
“I have no doubt but that the misery of the lower classes will be found to abate whenever the Government assumes a freer aspect and the laws favor a subdivision of Property.”
“The people are the only legitimate fountain of power, and it is from them that the constitutional charter, under which the several branches of government hold their power, is derived.”
“The essence of Government is power and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.”
“Government is an evil it is only the thoughtlessness and vices of men that make it a necessary evil. When all men are good and wise, government will of itself decay.”
“I would not give half a guinea to live under one form of government other than another. It is of no moment to the happiness of an individual.”
“In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men you must first enable the government to control the governed and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”
“What is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.”
“To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people, is a chimerical idea.”
“A politician is a man who understands government. A statesman is a politician who's been dead for 15 years.”
“A pure democracy is a society consisting of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the government in person.”
“The rights of persons, and the rights of property, are the objects, for the protection of which Government was instituted.”
“Religion flourishes in greater purity, without than with the aid of Government.”
“Democracy is not so much a form of government as a set of principles.”
“Say what you like about my bloody murderous government,' I says, 'but don't insult me poor bleedin' country.”
“If there are men in this country big enough to own the government of the United States, they are going to own it.”
“The awakening of the people of China to the possibilities under free government is the most significant, if not the most momentous, event of our generation.”