https://wist.info Wish I'd Said That! Tue, 07 Jul 2026 23:23:42 +0000 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://wist.info/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/little-w-little-box-60x60.jpg https://wist.info 32 32 43606282 https://wist.info/lamar-mirabeau/23046/ https://wist.info/lamar-mirabeau/23046/#respond Wed, 27 Nov 2013 13:30:29 +0000 Dave http://wist.info/?p=23046 Cultivated mind is the guardian genius of Democracy, and while guided and controlled by virtue, the noblest attribute of man. It is the only dictator that freemen acknowledge, and the only security which freemen desire.

Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar (1798-1859) Texas politician, poet, diplomat, soldier
First Message to Congress of the Republic of Texas, Houston (21 Dec 1838)

Frequently quoted by Lyndon Johnson, often paraphrased as "The educated mind is the guardian genius of democracy. It is the only dictator that free men recognize, and the only ruler that free men desire." Rendered in Latin ("Disciplina praesidium civitatis"), it is the motto of the University of Texas. ]]> https://wist.info/lamar-mirabeau/23046/feed/ 0 23046