The freest government, if it could exist, would not be long acceptable, if the tendency of the laws were to create a rapid accumulation of property in few hands, and to render the great mass of the population dependent and penniless.
Daniel Webster (1782-1852) American statesman, lawyer, orator
Speech (1820-12-22), “First Settlement of New England,” Plymouth, Massachusetts
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On the bicentennial of the Pilgrims' landing in the New World.
Quotations about:
free government
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In a word, a free government — that is, a government constantly subject to agitation — cannot last if it is not capable of being corrected by its own laws.
[En un mot, un gouvernement libre, c’est-à-dire toujours agité, ne saurait se maintenir s’il n’est, par ses propres lois, capable de correction.]
Charles-Lewis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) French political philosopher
Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and their Decline [Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur décadence], ch. 8 (1734, 1748 ed.) [tr. Lowenthal (1965)]
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(Source (French)). Other translations:In a word, a free government, that is to say, one for ever in motion, cannot support itself, unless its own laws are capable of correcting the disorders of it.
[tr. B--- (1734)]In a word, a free government -- that is to say, one which is constantly agitated -- can never maintain itself if it is not, by its own laws, capable of correction.
[tr. Baker (1882)]
The duty of public men in this Republic is to lead in standards of integrity — both in mind and money.
Dishonor in public life has a double poison. When people are dishonorable in private business, they injure only those with whom they deal or their own chances in the next world. But when there is a lack of honor in Government, the morals of the whole people are poisoned.
Some folks seem to think these are necessary evils in a free government. Or that it is smart politics. Those are deadly sleeping pills. No public man can be just a little crooked.Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) American engineer, bureaucrat, US President (1929-33)
Speech (1951-08-30), “Concerning Honor in Public Life,” Iowa Centennial Celebration, Des Moines, Iowa (radio broadcast)
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