The Revolution is made by man, but man must forge his revolutionary spirit from day to day.

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

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

A riot is at bottom the language of the unheard.

The vice presidency isn’t worth a pitcher of warm piss.

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

My 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.

The affairs of the world are no more than so much trickery, and a man who toils for money or honor or whatever else in deference to the wishes of others, rather than because his own desire or needs lead him to do so, will always be a fool.

Politics, n. A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.

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

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

I am invariably of the politics of the people at whose table I sit, or beneath whose roof I sleep.

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.