Politics and Power

An illiterate king is a crowned ass.

 

Generally, nobody behaves decently when they have power.

The master minds of all nations, in all ages, have sprung in affluent multitude from themass of the nation, and from the mass of the nation only—not from its privileged classes.

Ce Corps qui s’appellait, & qui s’appelle encor, le saint Empire Romain, n’était en aucune maniére, ni saint, ni Romain, ni Empire .

In this sense, the theory of the Communists may be summed up in the single sentence: Abolition of private property.

The President ordains the bee to be Immortal.

For then, in wrath, the Olympian Pericles Thundered and lightened, and confounded Hellas Enacting laws which ran like drinking songs. 1

Since a prince is constrained by necessity to know well how to use the beast, among [the beasts] he must choose the fox and the lion; because the lion does not defend itself from traps, the fox does not defend itself from the wolves. One therefore needs to be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to dismay the wolves.

If the injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine of government, let it go, let itgo: perchance it will wear smooth,—certainly the machine will wear out. If the injusticehas a spring, or a pulley, or a rope, or acrank, exclusively for itself, then perhaps you may consider whether the remedy will notbe worse than the evil; but if it is of such anature that it requires you to be the agent ofinjustice to another, then, I say, break the law.Let your life be a counter-friction to stop themachine.

He who knows the enemy and himself

War is a vital matter of state.

Warfare is the art of deceit.

People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.

Laws are like spider’s webs: if some poor weak creature come up against them, it is caught; but a bigger one can break through and get away.

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

And if, to be sure, sometimes you need to conceal a fact with words, do it in such a way that it does not become known, or, if it does become known, that you have a ready and quick defence.

A state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation.

America I’ve given you all and now I’m nothing.

The victorious army only enters battle afterhaving first won the victory, while the defeatedarmy only seeks victory after having firstentered the fray.

War is too serious a matter to entrust to military men.

Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants.

America I’m putting my queer shoulder to the wheel.

Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people, who have a right … and a desire to know; but besides this, they have a right, an indisputable, unalienable, indefeasible, divine right to that most dreaded and envied kind of knowledge, I mean of the characters and conduct of their rulers.

I consider that in no government power can be abused long. Mankind will not bear it. If a sovereign oppresses his people to a great degree, they will rise and cut off his head. There is a remedy in human nature against tyranny, that will keep us safe under every form of government.