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.

Written 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.

No human life, not even the life of a hermit, is possible without a world which directly or indirectly testifies to the presence of other human beings.

Sic semper tyrannis! The South is avenged.

The best of all rulers is but a shadowy presence to his subjects.

Every communist must grasp the truth: “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.”

A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always count on the support of Paul.

There is no method by which men can be both free and equal.

He may be a patriot for Austria, but the question is whether he is a patriot for me.

The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure it is right.

I am no courtesan, nor moderator, nor tribune, nor defender of the people: I am myself the people.

There is nothing more tyrannical than a strong popular feeling among a democratic people.

You campaign in poetry. You govern in prose.