1789

Everything that lives, Lives not alone, nor for itself.

1789

★ 7.2

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Bill of Rights · 1789

★ 7.2

The due administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government.

1789

★ 7.1

Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency, but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes!

Benjamin Franklin

Letters of Benjamin Franklin · 1789

★ 7.0

Can I see another's woe, And not be in sorrows too? Can I see another's grief, And not seek for kind relief?

Songs of Innocence · 1789

★ 5.5

Perhaps the interpretation of the Koran would now be taught in the schools of Oxford, and her pulpits might demonstrate to a circumcised people the sanctity and truth of the revelation of Mahomet.

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire · 1789

★ 5.3

Every project has been found to be no better than committing the lamb to the custody of the wolf, except that one which is called a balance of power.

John Adams

1789

★ 5.3

Autobiography and memoir

The thirst after happiness is never extinguished in the heart of man.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Confessions (Rousseau) · 1789

★ 4.7

The right of trial by jury shall be preserved.

Bill of Rights · 1789

★ 4.0

If we cannot secure all our rights, let us secure what we can.

Thomas Jefferson

1789

★ 3.9

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Bill of Rights · 1789

★ 3.9

The winds and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire · 1789

★ 3.8

All that is human must retrograde if it do not advance.

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire · 1789

★ 3.8

No society can make a perpetual constitution, or even a perpetual law. The earth belongs always to the living generation.

Thomas Jefferson

Letter to James Madison, 1789 · 1789

★ 3.8

And we are put on earth a little space, That we may learn to bear the beams of love.

Songs of Innocence · 1789

★ 3.8

Nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.

Bill of Rights · 1789

★ 3.8

The right of the people to be secure...against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause.

Bill of Rights · 1789

★ 3.8

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed.

Bill of Rights · 1789

★ 3.8

Vicissitudes of fortune, which spares neither man nor the proudest of his works, which buries empires and cities in a common grave.

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire · 1789

★ 3.7

How much the greatest event it is that ever happened in the world! and how much the best!

Charles James Fox

1789

★ 3.5

Philosophical literature

Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do.

Jeremy Bentham

An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation · 1789

★ 3.5

Essay · Political literature

A full-grown horse or dog is beyond comparison a more rational, as well as a more conversable animal, than an infant of a day, or a week, or even a month old. But suppose the case were otherwise, what would it avail? The question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?

Jeremy Bentham

An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation · 1789

★ 3.5

The moon like a flower In heaven's high bower, With silent delight, Sits and smiles on the night.

Songs of Innocence · 1789

★ 2.1

No People can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand, which conducts the Affairs of men more than the People of the United States. Every step, by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.

First Inaugural Address of George Washington · 1789

★ 2.1

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall...abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

All punishment is mischief: all punishment in itself is evil.

1789

★ 2.1

Essay · Political literature

Jeremy Bentham

An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation · 1789

★ 2.0

Little Lamb, who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee? Gave thee life and bid the feed By the stream and o'er the mead; Gave thee clothing of delight, Softest clothing, wooly, bright.

Songs of Innocence · 1789

★ 2.0

My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here, My heart's in the Highlands a-chasing the deer; Chasing the wild-deer, and following the roe, My heart's in the Highlands, wherever I go.

Robert Burns

1789

★ 1.9

In the important revolution just accomplished in the system of their United Government, the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities, from which the event has resulted, can not be compared with the means by which most governments have been established, without some return of pious gratitude along with an humble anticipation of the future blessings which the past seem to presage.

First Inaugural Address of George Washington · 1789

★ 1.3

The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the Republican model of Government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.

First Inaugural Address of George Washington · 1789

★ 1.3

There is no truth more thoroughly established, than that there exists in the economy and course of nature, an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness, between duty and advantage, between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy, and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity.

First Inaugural Address of George Washington · 1789

★ 1.3

Persuasion is the resource of the feeble; and the feeble can seldom persuade.