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.

Out of the crooked timber of humanity no straight thing was ever made.

Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them.

The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all.

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

Let him who desires peace prepare for war.

All the ills of democracy can be cured by more democracy.

The most hateful torment for men is to have knowledge of everything but power over nothing.

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.

Why has the government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice without constraint.

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.

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