“Nothing conceivable is so petty, so insipid, so crowded with paltry interests, in one word, so anti-poetic, as the life of a… — 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
“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
“Now, these eager and apprehensive men of small property constitute the class which is constantly increased by the equality of conditions. Hence,… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
“It is, indeed, difficult to conceive how men who have entirely given up the habit of self-government should succeed in making a… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
“Another tendency, which is extremely natural to democratic nations and extremely dangerous, is that which leads them to despise and undervalue the… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
“In running over the pages of our history for seven hundred years, we shall scarcely find a single great event which has… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
“It is extremely difficult to obtain a hearing from men living in democracies, unless it be to speak to them of themselves.… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
“The principle of equality, which makes men independent of each other, gives them a habit and a taste for following, in their… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
“The poor man retains the prejudices of his forefathers without their faith, and their ignorance without their virtues; he has adopted the… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
“The foremost, or indeed the sole condition, which is required in order to succeed in centralizing the supreme power in a democratic… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
“Nothing is more necessary to the culture of the higher sciences, or of the more elevated departments of science, than meditation; and… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
“I have often remarked in the United States that it is not easy to make a man understand that his presence may… — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
“Our contemporaries are constantly excited by two conflicting passions; they want to be led, and they wish to remain free: as they… — 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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
“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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
The more alike men are, the weaker each feels in the face of all. — Alexis de Tocqueville Copy Share Image
“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 Image
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 Image
