A wise government knows how to enforce with temper, or to conciliate with dignity, but a weak one is odious read more

A wise government knows how to enforce with temper, or to conciliate with dignity, but a weak one is odious in the former, and contemptible in the latter.

A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and read more

A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inferences

Only a government that is rich and safe can afford to be a democracy, for democracy is the most expensive read more

Only a government that is rich and safe can afford to be a democracy, for democracy is the most expensive and nefarious kind of government ever heard of on earth.

A great writer is, so to speak, a second government in his country. And for that reason no regime has read more

A great writer is, so to speak, a second government in his country. And for that reason no regime has ever loved great writers, only minor ones.

Relying on the government to protect your privacy is like asking a peeping tom to install your window blinds.

Relying on the government to protect your privacy is like asking a peeping tom to install your window blinds.

All free governments are managed by the combined wisdom and folly of the people.

All free governments are managed by the combined wisdom and folly of the people.

I'm tired of hearing it said that democracy doesn't work. Of course it doesn't work. We are supposed to work read more

I'm tired of hearing it said that democracy doesn't work. Of course it doesn't work. We are supposed to work it.

I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our read more

I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it.

Public confidence in the integrity of the Government is indispensable to faith in democracy; and when we lose faith in read more

Public confidence in the integrity of the Government is indispensable to faith in democracy; and when we lose faith in the system, we have lost faith in everything we fight and spend for.