It is impossible to tell which of the two dispositions we find in men is more harmful in a republic, that which seeks to maintain an established position or that which has none but seeks to acquire it.
—Niccolò Machiavelli, c. 1515Quotes
I am invariably of the politics of the people at whose table I sit, or beneath whose roof I sleep.
—George Borrow, 1843The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.
—Thomas Jefferson, 1787There is nothing more tyrannical than a strong popular feeling among a democratic people.
—Anthony Trollope, 1862The most hateful torment for men is to have knowledge of everything but power over nothing.
—Herodotus, c. 425 BCYou have all the characteristics of a popular politician: a horrible voice, bad breeding, and a vulgar manner.
—Aristophanes, c. 424 BCI am no courtesan, nor moderator, nor tribune, nor defender of the people: I am myself the people.
—Maximilien Robespierre, 1792Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people are right more than half of the time.
—E.B. White, 1944I work for a government I despise for ends I think criminal.
—John Maynard Keynes, 1917The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure it is right.
—Judge Learned Hand, 1944Why has the government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice without constraint.
—Alexander Hamilton, 1787The best of all rulers is but a shadowy presence to his subjects.
—LaoziYou should never have your best trousers on when you go out to fight for freedom and truth.
—Henrik Ibsen, 1882