The more corrupt the republic, the more numerous the laws.

People revere the Constitution yet know so little about it—and that goes for some of my fellow senators.

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.

To be turned from one’s course by men’s opinions, by blame, and by misrepresentation shows a man unfit to hold office.

Let him who desires peace prepare for war.

A riot is at bottom the language of the unheard.

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

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.

You have all the characteristics of a popular politician: a horrible voice, bad breeding, and a vulgar manner.

In politics, what begins in fear usually ends in folly.

I’m president of the United States, and I’m not going to eat any more broccoli!

A real leader is somebody who can help us overcome the limitations of our own individual laziness and selfishness and weakness and fear and get us to do better, harder things than we can get ourselves to do on our own.

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.