Rousseau had it backwards. We are NOT born free. We are born in the chains of the random and the read more

Rousseau had it backwards. We are NOT born free. We are born in the chains of the random and the reflexive, and are ignorant and unreasonable by simple nature. We must learn to be free, to organize the random and detect the reflexive, to acquire the knowledge of particulars and the powers of reason. The examined life is impossible if we cannot examine, order, classify, define, distinguish, always in minute particulars.

Many a bum show has been saved by the flag.

Many a bum show has been saved by the flag.

A monarch's neck should always have a noose around it -- it keeps him upright.

A monarch's neck should always have a noose around it -- it keeps him upright.

That government is best which governs least.

That government is best which governs least.

The object and practice of liberty lies in the limitation of governmental power.

The object and practice of liberty lies in the limitation of governmental power.

Quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est."
Latin: "A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's read more

Quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est."
Latin: "A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Letters to Lucilius.

A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman, of the next generation.

A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman, of the next generation.

The state is the great fiction by which everybody tries to live at the expense of everybody else.

The state is the great fiction by which everybody tries to live at the expense of everybody else.

History is a relentless master. It has no present, only the past rushing into the future. To try to hold read more

History is a relentless master. It has no present, only the past rushing into the future. To try to hold fast is to be swept aside.