Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. read more

Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.

Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one read more

Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except all those others that have been tried from time to time.

The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern.

The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern.

When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will
fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in read more

When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will
fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible
struggle.

In order to rally people, governments need enemies. They want us to be afraid, to hate, so we will rally read more

In order to rally people, governments need enemies. They want us to be afraid, to hate, so we will rally behind them. And if they do not have a real enemy, they will invent one in order to mobilize us.

The only justifiable purpose of political institutions is to ensure the unhindered development of the individual.

The only justifiable purpose of political institutions is to ensure the unhindered development of the individual.

So long as governments set the example of killing their enemies, private individuals will occasionally kill theirs.

So long as governments set the example of killing their enemies, private individuals will occasionally kill theirs.

It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.

It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.

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.