To be turned from one’s course by men’s opinions, by blame, and by misrepresentation shows a man unfit to hold office.
—Quintus Fabius Maximus, c. 203 BCQuotes
You have all the characteristics of a popular politician: a horrible voice, bad breeding, and a vulgar manner.
—Aristophanes, c. 424 BCNo free man shall be taken or imprisoned or dispossessed or outlawed or exiled, or in any way destroyed, nor will we go upon him, nor will we send against him except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.
—Magna Carta, 1215Written laws are like spiderwebs: they will catch, it is true, the weak and poor but would be torn in pieces by the rich and powerful.
—Anacharsis, c. 550 BCPower tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
—Lord Acton, 1887My people and I have come to an agreement that satisfies us both. They are to say what they please, and I am to do what I please.
—Frederick the Great, c. 1770Whether for good or evil, it is sadly inevitable that all political leadership requires the artifices of theatrical illusion. In the politics of a democracy, the shortest distance between two points is often a crooked line.
—Arthur Miller, 2001All the ills of democracy can be cured by more democracy.
—Al Smith, 1933On the loftiest throne in the world, we still sit only on our own rump.
—Michel de Montaigne, 1580There is no method by which men can be both free and equal.
—Walter Bagehot, 1863Treaties, you see, are like girls and roses: they last while they last.
—Charles de Gaulle, 1963It is a certain sign of a wise government and proceeding, when it can hold men’s hearts by hopes, when it cannot by satisfaction.
—Francis Bacon, 1625In politics, what begins in fear usually ends in folly.
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1830