My kind of loyalty was loyalty to one's country, not to its institutions or its officeholders. The country is the real thing, the substantial thing, the eternal thing; it is the thing to watch over, and care for, and be loyal to institutions are extraneous, they are its mere clothing, and clothing can wear out, become ragged, cease to be comfortable, cease to protect the body from winter, disease, and death.
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Our country. In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but our country right or read more
Our country. In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but our country right or wrong!
In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something read more
In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.
'My country, right or wrong' is a thing no patriot would ever think of saying except in a desperate case. read more
'My country, right or wrong' is a thing no patriot would ever think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying 'My mother, drunk or sober.'
The most certain test by which we judge whether a country is really free is the amount of security enjoyed read more
The most certain test by which we judge whether a country is really free is the amount of security enjoyed by minorities.
Even as a tree has a single trunk, but many branches and leaves, there is one religion but any number read more
Even as a tree has a single trunk, but many branches and leaves, there is one religion but any number of faiths
New Zealand is a country of thirty thousand million sheep, three million of whom think they are human.
New Zealand is a country of thirty thousand million sheep, three million of whom think they are human.
You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline - it helps if you have read more
You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline - it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer
God grant, that not only the Love of Liberty, but a thorough Knowledge of the Rights of Man, may pervade read more
God grant, that not only the Love of Liberty, but a thorough Knowledge of the Rights of Man, may pervade all the Nations of the Earth, so that a Philosopher may set his foot anywhere on its Surface, and say, "This is my Country.".
There is no greater sign of a general decay of virtue in a nation, than a want of zeal in read more
There is no greater sign of a general decay of virtue in a nation, than a want of zeal in its inhabitants for the good of their country.
