“The most perilous moment for a bad government is one when it seeks to mend its ways.” — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
As the past has ceased to throw its light upon the future, the mind of man wanders in obscurity. — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
Men living in democratic times have many passions, but most of their passions either end in the love of riches, or proceed… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
The taste for well-being is the prominent and indelible feature of democratic times. — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
The most dangerous moment for a bad government is when it begins to reform. — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness. — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
I should have loved freedom, I believe, at all times, but in the time in which we live I am ready to… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
There are at the present time two great nations in the world allude to the Russians and the Americans All other nations… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
The most perilous moment for a bad government is when it seeks to mend its ways. Only consummate statecraft can enable a… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
The surface of American society is covered with a layer of democratic paint, but from time to time one can see the… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
The nations of our time cannot prevent the conditions of men from becoming equal, but it depends upon themselves whether the principle… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
“It had been supposed, until our time, that despotism was odious, under whatever form it appeared. But it is a discovery of… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
The civil jury is the most effective form of sovereignty of the people. It defies the aggressions of time and man. During… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
The main business of religions is to purify, control, and restrain that excessive and exclusive taste for well-being which men acquire in… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
To commit violent and unjust acts, it is not enough for a government to have the will or even the power; the… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
“Aristocracy naturally leads the human mind to the contemplation of the past, and fixes it there. Democracy, on the contrary, gives men… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
There are at the present time two great nations in the world--the Russians and the Americans. The American relies upon his personal… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
Born often under another sky, placed in the middle of an always moving scene, himself driven by the irresistible torrent which draws… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
Consider any individual at any period of his life, and you will always find him preoccupied with fresh plans to increase his… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
It would seem as if the rulers of our time sought only to use men in order to make things great; I… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
The Americans, on the contrary, are fond of explaining almost all the actions of their lives by the principle of interest rightly… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
I shall not fear to say that the doctrine of self-interest rightly understood seems to me of all the philosophic theories the… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
“Shall I think that the Creator has made man so as to leave him to debate endlessly in the intellectual miseries that… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
“I have only to contemplate myself; man comes from nothing, passes through time, and disappears forever in the bosom of God. He… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
“From the time when the exercise of the intellect became a source of strength and of wealth, we see that every addition… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
“We must first understand what the purport of society and the aim of government is held to be. If it be your… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
“There are at the present time two great nations in the world, which started from different points, but seem to tend towards… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
I have seen Americans making great and sincere sacrifices for the key common good and a hundred times I have noticed that,… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
Among the droves of men with political ambitions in the United States, I found very few with that virile candor, that manly… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
Step back in time; look closely at the child in the very arms of his mother; see the external world reflected for… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
The most formidable of all the ills that threaten the future of the Union arises from the presence of a black population… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share
No state of society or laws can render men so much alike but that education, fortune, and tastes will interpose some differences between them;… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share
I do not know if the people of the United States would vote for superior men if they ran for office, but there can… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share
What good does it do me, after all, if an ever-watchful authority keeps an eye out to ensure that my pleasures will be tranquil… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share
The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults. — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share
“I am unacquainted with His designs, but I shall not cease to believe in them because I cannot fathom them, and I had rather… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share
I questioned the faithful of all communions; I particularly sought the society of clergymen, who are the depositories of the various creeds and have… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share
Christianity is the companion of liberty in all its conflicts, the cradle of its infancy, and the divine source of its claims. — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share
“There is a twofold liberty, natural (I mean as our nature is now corrupt) and civil or federal. The first is common to man… — Alexis De Tocqueville Copy Share
Upon my arrival in the United States the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention; and the longer… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share
Despotism often presents itself as the repairer of all the ills suffered, the support of just rights, defender of the oppressed, and founder of… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share
On this waterlogged landscape…are scattered palaces and hovels…It is here that the human spirit becomes perfect, and at the same time brutalised, that civilisation… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share
![“Shall I think that the Creator has made man so as to leave him to debate endlessly in the intellectual miseries that surround us? I cannot believe this: God prepares a firmer and calmer future for European societies; I am ignorant of his designs, but I will not cease to believe in them [merely]…” quote by Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/7fa/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_doubt_shall-i-think-that-the-creator-has-made_537019.jpg)
