---
title: "72 Government Quotes By Henry David Thoreau"
description: "Government quotes by Henry David Thoreau on minimal governance, civil disobedience, and bureaucratic noise."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2f/henry-david-thoreau-20_government_i-ask-for-not-at-once-no-government-but_1648012.jpg"
---

> [I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-ask-for-not-at-once-no-government-but-at-once-a-better-government/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2f/henry-david-thoreau-20_government_i-ask-for-not-at-once-no-government-but_1648012.jpg)

> [“That government is best that governs not at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/that-government-is-best-that-governs-not-at-all/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b7/henry-david-thoreau-20_best_that-government-is-best-that-governs-not_469429.jpg)

> [That government is best which governs least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/that-government-is-best-which-governs-least/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/662/henry-david-thoreau-20_government_that-government-is-best-which-governs-le_1910864.jpg)

> [If an injustice requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law. Let your life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-an-injustice-requires-you-to-be-the-agent-of-injustice-to-another/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/600/henry-david-thoreau-20_government_if-an-injustice-requires-you-to-be-the-a_642137.jpg)

> [I heartily accept the motto, "That government is best which governs least"; and I should like to see it acted up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-heartily-accept-the-motto-that-government-is-best-which-governs/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/henry-david-thoreau-20_accepting_i-heartily-accept-the-motto-that-governm_2198784.jpg)

> [If the injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine of government, let it go, let it go: perchance it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-the-injustice-is-part-of-the-necessary-friction-of-the-machine-of/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83e/henry-david-thoreau-20_civil-disobedience_if-the-injustice-is-part-of-the-necessar_473987.jpg)

> [Government never furthered any enterprise but by the alacrity with which it got out of its way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/government-never-furthered-any-enterprise-but-by-the-alacrity-with/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/henry-david-thoreau-20_alacrity_government-never-furthered-any-enterpris_950897.jpg)

> [Governments show thus how successfully men can be imposed on, even impose on themselves, for their own advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/governments-show-thus-how-successfully-men-can-be-imposed-on-even/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ec/henry-david-thoreau-20_advantage_governments-show-thus-how-successfully-m_1573243.jpg)

> [But government in which the majority rule in all cases can not be based on justice, even as far as men understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/but-government-in-which-the-majority-rule-in-all-cases-can-not-be/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/438/henry-david-thoreau-20_can-not_but-government-in-which-the-majority-rul_3194909.jpg)

> [Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/under-a-government-which-imprisons-any-unjustly-the-true-place-for-a/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/henry-david-thoreau-20_crime_under-a-government-which-imprisons-any-u_2093253.jpg)

> [That government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/that-government-is-best-which-governs-the-least-because-its-people/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3f/henry-david-thoreau-20_discipline_that-government-is-best-which-governs-th_327249.jpg)

> [This American government - what is it but a tradition, though a recent one, endeavoring to transmit itself unimpaired to posterity, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-american-government-what-is-it-but-a-tradition-though-a-recent/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/555/henry-david-thoreau-20_american-government_this-american-government-what-is-it-but_531952.jpg)

> [A strange age of the world this, when empires, kingdoms, and republics come a-begging to a private man's door, and utter their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-strange-age-of-the-world-this-when-empires-kingdoms-and-republics/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/henry-david-thoreau-20_age_a-strange-age-of-the-world-this-when-emp_1772133.jpg)

> [Visit the Navy-Yard, and behold a marine, such a man as an American government can make, or such as it can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/visit-the-navy-yard-and-behold-a-marine-such-a-man-as-an-american/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/henry-david-thoreau-20_alive_visit-the-navy-yard-and-behold-a-marine_1939432.jpg)

> [Any man knows when he is justified, and all the wits in the world cannot enlighten him on that point. The murderer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/any-man-knows-when-he-is-justified-and-all-the-wits-in-the-world/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab3/henry-david-thoreau-20_audacious_any-man-knows-when-he-is-justified-and-a_394262.jpg)

> [I repeat that in this sense the most splendid court in Christendom is provincial, having authority to consult about Transalpine interests only,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-repeat-that-in-this-sense-the-most-splendid-court-in-christendom-is/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46e/henry-david-thoreau-20_affair_i-repeat-that-in-this-sense-the-most-spl_121200.jpg)

> [The government itself, which is only the mode which the people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-government-itself-which-is-only-the-mode-which-the-people-have/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96c/henry-david-thoreau-20_chosen_the-government-itself-which-is-only-the_3012325.jpg)

> [All men recognize the right of revolution; that is, the right to refuse allegiance to, and to resist, the government, when its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-men-recognize-the-right-of-revolution-that-is-the-right-to-refuse/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d70/henry-david-thoreau-20_allegiance_all-men-recognize-the-right-of-revolutio_1404962.jpg)

> [No man in America has ever stood up so persistently and effectively for the dignity of human nature, knowing himself for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/no-man-in-america-has-ever-stood-up-so-persistently-and-effectively/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/719/henry-david-thoreau-20_america_no-man-in-america-has-ever-stood-up-so-p_1860628.jpg)

> [No man with a genius for legislation has appeared in America. They are rare in the history of the world. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/no-man-with-a-genius-for-legislation-has-appeared-in-america-they-are/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e30/henry-david-thoreau-20_america_no-man-with-a-genius-for-legislation-has_1144106.jpg)

> [I please myself with imagining a State at least which can afford to be just to all men, and to treat the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-please-myself-with-imagining-a-state-at-least-which-can-afford-to/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/802/henry-david-thoreau-20_aloof_i-please-myself-with-imagining-a-state-a_570581.jpg)

> [Statesmen and legislators, standing so completely within the institution, never distinctly and nakedly behold it. They speak of moving society, but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/statesmen-and-legislators-standing-so-completely-within-the/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6b/henry-david-thoreau-20_be-a-man_statesmen-and-legislators-standing-so-co_2463690.jpg)

> [Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also in prison, the only house in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/under-a-government-which-imprisons-any-unjustly-the-true-place-for-a-2/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/henry-david-thoreau-20_alternatives_under-a-government-which-imprisons-any-u_2942634.jpg)

> [Consider the islands bearing the names of all the saints, bristling with forts like chestnut-burs, or Echinidæ, yet the police will not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/consider-the-islands-bearing-the-names-of-all-the-saints-bristling/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b87/henry-david-thoreau-20_attitude_consider-the-islands-bearing-the-names-o_153851.jpg)

> [Seen from a lower point of view, the Constitution, with all its faults, is very good; the law and the courts are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/seen-from-a-lower-point-of-view-the-constitution-with-all-its-faults/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa0/henry-david-thoreau-20_admirable_seen-from-a-lower-point-of-view-the-cons_1412129.jpg)

> [I do not wish to quarrel with any man or nation. I do not wish to split hairs, to make fine distinctions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-do-not-wish-to-quarrel-with-any-man-or-nation-i-do-not-wish-to/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fc/henry-david-thoreau-20_conform_i-do-not-wish-to-quarrel-with-any-man-or_748462.jpg)

> [No: until I want the protection of Massachusetts to be extended to me in some distant Southern port, where my liberty is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/no-until-i-want-the-protection-of-massachusetts-to-be-extended-to-me/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/henry-david-thoreau-20_allegiance_no-until-i-want-the-protection-of-massac_514448.jpg)

> [“Unjust laws exist; shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/unjust-laws-exist-shall-we-be-content-to-obey-them-or-shall-we/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d73/henry-david-thoreau-20_america_unjust-laws-exist-shall-we-be-content-to_673795.jpg)

> [When I meet a government which says to me, "Your money or your life," why should I be in haste to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-i-meet-a-government-which-says-to-me-your-money-or-your-life-why/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/henry-david-thoreau-20_giving_when-i-meet-a-government-which-says-to-m_2225996.jpg)

> [“for the people must have some complicated machinery or other, and hear its din, to satisfy that idea of government which they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/for-the-people-must-have-some-complicated-machinery-or-other-and-hear/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bd/henry-david-thoreau-20_bureaucracy_for-the-people-must-have-some-complicate_463385.jpg)

> [It is impossible to give a soldier a good education without making him a deserter. His natural foe is the government that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/it-is-impossible-to-give-a-soldier-a-good-education-without-making/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aab/henry-david-thoreau-20_drills_it-is-impossible-to-give-a-soldier-a-goo_919464.jpg)

> [Government is at best but an expedient; but most governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/government-is-at-best-but-an-expedient-but-most-governments-are-2/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba9/henry-david-thoreau-20_government_government-is-at-best-but-an-expedient-b_879277.jpg)

> [“The progress from an absolute to a limited monarchy, from a limited monarchy to a democracy, is a progress toward a true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-progress-from-an-absolute-to-a-limited-monarchy-from-a-limited/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/797/henry-david-thoreau-20_absolutes_the-progress-from-an-absolute-to-a-limit_1592219.jpg)

> [Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtaining it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/let-every-man-make-known-what-kind-of-government-would-command-his/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33b/henry-david-thoreau-20_command_let-every-man-make-known-what-kind-of-go_1013807.jpg)

> [While the Governor, and the Mayor, and countless officers of the Commonwealth are at large, the champions of liberty are imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/while-the-governor-and-the-mayor-and-countless-officers-of-the/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d51/henry-david-thoreau-20_champion_while-the-governor-and-the-mayor-and-cou_1855484.jpg)

> [Give me a country where it is the most natural thing in the world for a government that does not understand you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/give-me-a-country-where-it-is-the-most-natural-thing-in-the-world-for/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/henry-david-thoreau-20_country_give-me-a-country-where-it-is-the-most-n_231498.jpg)

> [The oldest, wisest politician grows not more human so, but is merely a gray wharf rat at last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-oldest-wisest-politician-grows-not-more-human-so-but-is-merely-a/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4f/henry-david-thoreau-20_government_the-oldest-wisest-politician-grows-not-m_1082367.jpg)

> [The government of the world I live in was not framed, like that of Britain, in after-dinner conversations over the wine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-government-of-the-world-i-live-in-was-not-framed-like-that-of/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41d/henry-david-thoreau-20_britain_the-government-of-the-world-i-live-in-wa_1488743.jpg)

> [ Why does it \[government\] always crucify Christ, and excommunicate Copernicus and Luther, and pronounce Washington and Franklin rebels? ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/why-does-it-government-always-crucify-christ-and-excommunicate/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/henry-david-thoreau-20_christ_why-does-it-government-always-crucify-ch_2832211.jpg)

> [A man may grow rich in Turkey even, if he will be in all respects a good subject of the Turkish government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-man-may-grow-rich-in-turkey-even-if-he-will-be-in-all-respects-a/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/henry-david-thoreau-20_conformity_a-man-may-grow-rich-in-turkey-even-if-he_1237823.jpg)

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## More by Henry David Thoreau

> [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [“Men say they know many things; But lo! they have taken wings, — The arts and sciences, And a thousand appliances; The wind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-say-they-know-many-things-but-lo-they-have-taken-wings-the-arts/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-voting-is-a-sort-of-gaming-like-checkers-or-back-gammon-with-a/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-for-doing-good-that-is-one-of-the-professions-which-is-full/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [A traveler who looks at things with an impartial eye may see what the oldest inhabitant has not observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-traveler-who-looks-at-things-with-an-impartial-eye-may-see-what-the/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-still-youthful-energies-of-the-globe-have-only-to-be-directed-in/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/concord-s-little-arch-does-not-span-all-our-fate-nor-is-what/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [“When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-he-has-obtained-those-things-which-are-necessary-to-life-there/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [Wealth is measured by the level of experience in all aspects of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wealth-is-measured-by-the-level-of-experience-in-all-aspects-of-life/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

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                        "text": "A strange age of the world this, when empires, kingdoms, and republics come a-begging to a private man's door, and utter their complaints at his elbow! I cannot take up a newspaper but I find that some wretched government or other, hard pushed and on its last legs, is interceding with me, the reader, to vote for it.",
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                        "text": "Visit the Navy-Yard, and behold a marine, such a man as an American government can make, or such as it can make a man with its black arts - a mere shadow and reminiscence of humanity, a man laid out alive and standing, and already, as one may say, buried under arms with funeral accompaniments.",
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                        "text": "Any man knows when he is justified, and all the wits in the world cannot enlighten him on that point. The murderer always knows that he is justly punished; but when a government takes the life of a man without the consent of his conscience, it is an audacious government, and is taking a step towards its own dissolution.",
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                        "text": "I repeat that in this sense the most splendid court in Christendom is provincial, having authority to consult about Transalpine interests only, and not the affairs of Rome. A prætor or proconsul would suffice to settle the questions which absorb the attention of the English Parliament and the American Congress.",
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                        "text": "The government itself, which is only the mode which the people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it.",
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                        "text": "All men recognize the right of revolution; that is, the right to refuse allegiance to, and to resist, the government, when its tyranny or its inefficiency are great and unendurable.",
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                        "text": "No man in America has ever stood up so persistently and effectively for the dignity of human nature, knowing himself for a man, and the equal of any and all governments. In that sense he was the most American of us all.",
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                        "text": "No man with a genius for legislation has appeared in America. They are rare in the history of the world. There are orators, politicians, and eloquent men, by the thousand; but the speaker has not yet opened his mouth to speak who is capable of settling the much-vexed questions of the day. We love eloquence for its own sake, and not for any truth which it may utter, or any heroism it may inspire. Our legislators have not yet learned the comparative value of free trade and of freedom, of union, and of rectitude, to a nation.",
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                        "text": "I please myself with imagining a State at least which can afford to be just to all men, and to treat the individual with respect as a neighbor; which even would not think it inconsistent with its own repose if a few were to live aloof from it, not meddling with it, nor embraced by it, who fulfilled all the duties of neighbors and fellow-men. A State which bore this kind of fruit, and suffered it to drop off as fast as it ripened, would prepare the way for a still more perfect and glorious State, which also I have imagined, but not yet anywhere seen.",
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                        "text": "Statesmen and legislators, standing so completely within the institution, never distinctly and nakedly behold it. They speak of moving society, but they have no resting-place without it. They may be men of a certain experience and discrimination, and have no doubt invented ingenious and even useful systems, for which we sincerely thank them; but all their wit and usefulness lie within certain not very wide limits. They are wont to forget that the world is not governed by policy and expediency.",
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                        "text": "Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also in prison, the only house in a slave State in which a free man can abide with honor. They do not know how much truth is stronger than error, nor how much more eloquently and effectively he can combat injustice who has experienced a little in his own person. If the alternative is to keep all just men in prison, or give up war and slavery, the State will not hesitate which to choose.",
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                        "text": "Consider the islands bearing the names of all the saints, bristling with forts like chestnut-burs, or Echinidæ, yet the police will not let a couple of Irishmen have a private sparring- match on one of them, as it is a government monopoly; all the great seaports are in a boxing attitude, and you must sail prudently between two tiers of stony knuckles before you come to feel the warmth of their breasts.",
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                        "text": "Seen from a lower point of view, the Constitution, with all its faults, is very good; the law and the courts are very respectable;even this State and this American government are, in many respects, very admirable, and rare things, to be thankful for, such as a great many have described them; but seen from a point of view a little higher, they are what I have described them; seen from a higher still, and the highest, who shall say what they are, or that they are worth looking at or thinking of at all?",
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                        "text": "I do not wish to quarrel with any man or nation. I do not wish to split hairs, to make fine distinctions, or set myself up as better than my neighbors. I seek rather, I may say, even an excuse for conforming to the laws of the land. I am but too ready to conform to them. Indeed, I have reason to suspect myself on this head; and each year, as the tax-gatherer comes round, I find myself disposed to review the acts and position of the general and State governments, and the spirit of the people, to discover a pretext for conformity.",
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                        "text": "No: until I want the protection of Massachusetts to be extended to me in some distant Southern port, where my liberty is endangered, or until I am bent solely on building up an estate at home by peaceful enterprise, I can afford to refuse allegiance to Massachusetts, and her right to my property and life. It costs me less in every sense to incur the penalty of disobedience to the State than it would to obey. I should feel as if I were worth less in that case.",
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