At every step the natural light which illuminates their path grows dimmer and less… — Alexis de Tocqueville

At every step the natural light which illuminates their path grows dimmer and less secure; and that, in spite of all their efforts, they have as yet only discovered a small number of conflicting notions, on which the mind of man has been tossed about for thousands of years, without either laying a firmer grasp on truth, or finding novelty even in its errors.

In the original French

Le passé n'éclairant plus l'avenir, l'esprit marche dans les ténèbres.

Democracy in America · 1840
★ 3.9
Provenance
Current citation
Tocqueville, Alexis De. Democracy in America: The Complete and Unabridged Volumes I and II, translated by Henry Reeve. Bantam Classics, 2000, vol. 2, sect. 1, ch. 5.
Original citation
Tocqueville, Alexis De. De La Democratie en Amerique [Democracy in America]. Vol. 2, London: Saunders and Otley, 1840, sect. 1, ch. 5.