The Quotes canon
Sourced and curated.
Every quote has been curated by hand and carefully authenticated.
Browse all 10,075 quotes or apply filters in different categories to narrow your search.
Browse all 10,075 quotes or apply filters in different categories to narrow your search.
Government53 quotes
In such condition there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain... And the life of man solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. — Thomas Hobbes · 1651Democracy is the worst form of Government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time. — Winston Churchill · 1947Why has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice, without constraint. — Alexander Hamilton · 1787It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. — James Madison · 1788Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society. It ever has been and ever will be pursued until it be obtained, or until liberty be lost in the pursuit. — James Madison · 1788The State is not "abolished", it withers away. — Friedrich Engels · 1878All 53 quotes →Political theory35 quotes
Why has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice, without constraint. — Alexander Hamilton · 1787It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. — James Madison · 1788Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society. It ever has been and ever will be pursued until it be obtained, or until liberty be lost in the pursuit. — James Madison · 1788The State is not "abolished", it withers away. — Friedrich Engels · 1878The best government is that which governs least. — John L. O'Sullivan · 1837Whoever desires to found a state and give it laws, must start with assuming that all men are bad and ever ready to display their vicious nature, whenever they may find occasions for it. — Niccolo Machiavelli · 1531All 35 quotes →Politics22 quotes
Democracy is the worst form of Government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time. — Winston Churchill · 1947Why has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice, without constraint. — Alexander Hamilton · 1787It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. — James Madison · 1788The State is not "abolished", it withers away. — Friedrich Engels · 1878The best government is that which governs least. — John L. O'Sullivan · 1837If all men were just, there still would be some, though not so much, need of government. — Abraham Lincoln · 1854All 22 quotes →Limited government5 quotes
The best government is that which governs least. — John L. O'Sullivan · 1837The government strong enough to give you what you want is strong enough to take it all away. — Barry Goldwater · 1964A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have. — Gerald Ford · 1960Ours was the first revolution in the history of mankind that truly reversed the course of government, and with three little words: "We the People." "We the People" tell the government what to do; it doesn't tell us."We the People" are the driver; the government is the car. And we decide where it should go, and by what route, and how fast. Almost all the world's constitutions are documents in which governments tell the people what their privileges are. Our Constitution is a document in which "We the People" tell the government what it is allowed to do."We the People" are free. — Ronald Reagan · 1989And I hope we have once again reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: As government expands, liberty contracts. — Ronald Reagan · 1989Human nature4 quotes
Why has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice, without constraint. — Alexander Hamilton · 1787It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. — James Madison · 1788Whoever desires to found a state and give it laws, must start with assuming that all men are bad and ever ready to display their vicious nature, whenever they may find occasions for it. — Niccolo Machiavelli · 1531If all men were just, there still would be some, though not so much, need of government. — Abraham Lincoln · 1854Purpose of government4 quotes
To correct the evils, great and small, which spring from want of sympathy and from positive enmity, among strangers, as nations or as individuals, is one of the highest functions of civilization. — Abraham Lincoln · 1859Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants. Men have a right that these wants should be provided for by this wisdom. — Edmund Burke · 1790This government was instituted to secure the blessings of freedom, and…slavery is an unqualified evil to the negro, to the white man, to the soil, and to the State. — Abraham Lincoln · 1858One legislator accused me of having a nineteenth-century attitude on law and order. That is a totally false charge. I have an eighteenth-century attitude. That is when the Founding Fathers made it clear that the safety of law-abiding citizens should be one of the government's primary concerns. — Ronald Reagan · 1973Freedom3 quotes
So long as the State exists, there can be no freedom. When there is freedom there will be no State. — Vladimir Lenin · 1917This government was instituted to secure the blessings of freedom, and…slavery is an unqualified evil to the negro, to the white man, to the soil, and to the State. — Abraham Lincoln · 1858And I hope we have once again reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: As government expands, liberty contracts. — Ronald Reagan · 1989Good government3 quotes
A good government implies two things: first, fidelity to the object of government, which is the happiness of the people; secondly, a knowledge of the means by which that object can be best attained. — James Madison · 1788For forms of government let fools contest;
Whate'er is best administered is best. — Alexander Pope · 1733For where's the state beneath the firmament
That doth excel the bees for government? — Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas · 1578American politics2 quotes
This government was instituted to secure the blessings of freedom, and…slavery is an unqualified evil to the negro, to the white man, to the soil, and to the State. — Abraham Lincoln · 1858Ours was the first revolution in the history of mankind that truly reversed the course of government, and with three little words: "We the People." "We the People" tell the government what to do; it doesn't tell us."We the People" are the driver; the government is the car. And we decide where it should go, and by what route, and how fast. Almost all the world's constitutions are documents in which governments tell the people what their privileges are. Our Constitution is a document in which "We the People" tell the government what it is allowed to do."We the People" are free. — Ronald Reagan · 1989Justice2 quotes
Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society. It ever has been and ever will be pursued until it be obtained, or until liberty be lost in the pursuit. — James Madison · 1788Every segment of our population and every individual has a right to expect from our Government a fair deal. — Harry Truman · 1949Law2 quotes
The chief foundations of all states, new as well as old or composite, are good laws and good arms; and as there cannot be good laws where the state is not well armed, it follows that where they are well armed they have good laws. — Niccolo Machiavelli · 1532Whatever government is not a government of laws, is a despotism, let it be called what it may. — Daniel Webster · 1835Rule of law2 quotes
To correct the evils, great and small, which spring from want of sympathy and from positive enmity, among strangers, as nations or as individuals, is one of the highest functions of civilization. — Abraham Lincoln · 1859Whatever government is not a government of laws, is a despotism, let it be called what it may. — Daniel Webster · 1835State of nature2 quotes
In such condition there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain... And the life of man solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. — Thomas Hobbes · 1651During the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called war; and such a war as is of every man against every man. — Thomas Hobbes · 1651Tyranny2 quotes
Whatever government is not a government of laws, is a despotism, let it be called what it may. — Daniel Webster · 1835In all tyrannical governments, the supreme magistracy, or the right both of making and of enforcing the laws, is vested in one and the same man, or one and the same body of men; and wherever these two powers are united together, there can be no public liberty. — William Blackstone · 1769Activist government1 quote
How small, of all that human hearts endure,
That part which laws or kings can cause or cure! — Oliver Goldsmith · 1765American Revolution1 quote
Ours was the first revolution in the history of mankind that truly reversed the course of government, and with three little words: "We the People." "We the People" tell the government what to do; it doesn't tell us."We the People" are the driver; the government is the car. And we decide where it should go, and by what route, and how fast. Almost all the world's constitutions are documents in which governments tell the people what their privileges are. Our Constitution is a document in which "We the People" tell the government what it is allowed to do."We the People" are free. — Ronald Reagan · 1989Anarchy1 quote
In such condition there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain... And the life of man solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. — Thomas Hobbes · 1651Bees1 quote
For where's the state beneath the firmament
That doth excel the bees for government? — Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas · 1578Big government1 quote
No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. So governments' programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth. — Ronald Reagan · 1964Children1 quote
The first duty of a State is to see that every child born therein shall be well housed, clothed, fed, and educated, till it attain years of discretion. — John Ruskin · 1867Citizen and state1 quote
Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees; and both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people. — Henry Clay · 1829Class conflict1 quote
The State is an instrument in the hands of the ruling class, used to break the resistance of the adversaries of that class. — Joseph Stalin · 1924Communism1 quote
The State is not "abolished", it withers away. — Friedrich Engels · 1878Conservatism1 quote
A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have. — Gerald Ford · 1960Crime1 quote
One legislator accused me of having a nineteenth-century attitude on law and order. That is a totally false charge. I have an eighteenth-century attitude. That is when the Founding Fathers made it clear that the safety of law-abiding citizens should be one of the government's primary concerns. — Ronald Reagan · 1973Decline of democracy1 quote
While the people retain their virtue and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme of wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the government in the short space of four years. — Abraham Lincoln · 1861Democracy1 quote
Democracy is the worst form of Government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time. — Winston Churchill · 1947Downsides of government1 quote
Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one. — Thomas Paine · 1776Economics1 quote
Very few people spend other people's money as carefully as they spend their own. — Milton Friedman · 1975England1 quote
England is the mother of parliaments. — John Bright · 1865