--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It profits me but little, after all, that…" description: "\"It profits me but little, after all, that a vigilant authority always protects the tranquility of my pleasures and constantly averts all dangers from m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_absolutes_it-profits-me-but-little-after-all-that_2710079.jpg" --- # It profits me but little, after all, that a vigilant… ![“It profits me but little, after all, that a vigilant authority always protects the tranquility of my pleasures and constantly averts all dangers from my path, without my care or concern, if this same authority is the absolute master of my liberty and my life.” quote by Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_absolutes_it-profits-me-but-little-after-all-that_2710079.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_absolutes_it-profits-me-but-little-after-all-that_2710079.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_absolutes_it-profits-me-but-little-after-all-that_2710079.jpg) > “It profits me but little, after all, that a vigilant authority always protects the tranquility of my pleasures and constantly averts all dangers from my path, without my care or concern, if this same authority is the absolute master of my liberty and my life.” [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns that surrendering liberty to a protective authority may secure comfort but at the cost of personal freedom. **In simple terms:** Security can cost freedom. Key Takeaway Guard your freedom even when safe. Themes freedom authority security liberty political philosophy Mood cautious reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - government oversight - personal autonomy - civil rights - political activism Key Concepts social contract surveillance power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Do you trust the institutions that protect you? - How would you balance safety and freedom? A Different Perspective Even a well‑intentioned authority can become oppressive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Authority Protects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority-protects-2801005/) [Avert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avert/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Concern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concern/) [Danger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/danger/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Master Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/master-liberty-670255/) [Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masters/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Pleasures Constantly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasures-constantly-2801007/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Profit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profit/) [Protect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protect/) [Protects Tranquility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protects-tranquility-2801006/) [Tranquility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tranquility/) [Vigilant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vigilant/) [Vigilant Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vigilant-authority-2801004/) ## Related quotes > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/what-good-does-it-do-me-after-all-if-an-ever-watchful-authority-keeps/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/what-good-does-it-do-me-after-all-if-an-ever-watchful-authority-keeps-2/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Our courage is greater to dare a visible than an imagined danger. A visible danger rouses our energies to meet or avert it; a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/our-courage-is-greater-to-dare-a-visible-than-an-imagined-danger-a/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [In time of trouble avert not thy face from hope, for the soft marrow abideth in the hard bone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hafez/in-time-of-trouble-avert-not-thy-face-from-hope-for-the-soft-marrow/) [Hafez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hafez/) > [Every once in a while I feel despair over the fate of the planet. If you've been following climate science, you know what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-krugman/every-once-in-a-while-i-feel-despair-over-the-fate-of-the-planet-if/) [Paul Krugman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-krugman/) > [We cannot avert our eyes without staining our souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-kucinich/we-cannot-avert-our-eyes-without-staining-our-souls/) [Dennis Kucinich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-kucinich/) > [Sex cannot be understood because nature cannot be understood. Science is a method of logical analysis of nature's operations. It has lessened human anxiety…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille/sex-cannot-be-understood-because-nature-cannot-be-understood-science/) [Camille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille/) > [We live in a very special time right now. At no other time in history has there been such mass disillusionment in terms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/we-live-in-a-very-special-time-right-now-at-no-other-time-in-history/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [To survive, to avert what we have termed future shock, the individual must become infinitely more adaptable and capable than ever before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-toffler/to-survive-to-avert-what-we-have-termed-future-shock-the-individual/) [Alvin Toffler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-toffler/) > [This is the message of your life and my life - it’s that nothing lasts. Heraclitus said it: Panta Rhei. All flows, nothing lasts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-the-message-of-your-life-and-my-life-it-s-that-nothing-lasts/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The way to chastity is not to struggle directly with incontinent thoughts but to avert the thoughts by some imployment, or by reading, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/the-way-to-chastity-is-not-to-struggle-directly-with-incontinent/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [He who loathes war, and will do everything in his power to avert it, but who will, in the last extremity, encounter its perils,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stevens-cabot-abbott/he-who-loathes-war-and-will-do-everything-in-his-power-to-avert-it/) [John Stevens Cabot Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stevens-cabot-abbott/) > [What astonishing changes a few years are capable of producing! I am told that even respectable characters speak of a monarchical form of government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/what-astonishing-changes-a-few-years-are-capable-of-producing-i-am/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [The childhood of the individual and the race is full of fears, and panic-stricken attempts to avert what is feared by placating the gods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/the-childhood-of-the-individual-and-the-race-is-full-of-fears-and/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [Can we reach biosphere consciousness and global empathy in time to avert planetary collapse?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-rifkin/can-we-reach-biosphere-consciousness-and-global-empathy-in-time-to/) [Jeremy Rifkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-rifkin/) ## More by Alexis de Tocqueville > [All around you everything is on the move,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/all-around-you-everything-is-on-the-move/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [No state of society or laws can render men so much alike but that education, fortune, and tastes will interpose some differences between them;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/no-state-of-society-or-laws-can-render-men-so-much-alike-but-that/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [I do not know if the people of the United States would vote for superior men if they ran for office, but there can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-do-not-know-if-the-people-of-the-united-states-would-vote-for/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/what-good-does-it-do-me-after-all-if-an-ever-watchful-authority-keeps/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-greatness-of-america-lies-not-in-being-more-enlightened-than-any/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“I am unacquainted with His designs, but I shall not cease to believe in them because I cannot fathom them, and I had rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-am-unacquainted-with-his-designs-but-i-shall-not-cease-to-believe/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [I questioned the faithful of all communions; I particularly sought the society of clergymen, who are the depositories of the various creeds and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-questioned-the-faithful-of-all-communions-i-particularly-sought-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Christianity is the companion of liberty in all its conflicts, the cradle of its infancy, and the divine source of its claims.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/christianity-is-the-companion-of-liberty-in-all-its-conflicts-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [The more alike men are, the weaker each feels in the face of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-more-alike-men-are-the-weaker-each-feels-in-the-face-of-all/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“There is a twofold liberty, natural (I mean as our nature is now corrupt) and civil or federal. The first is common to man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/there-is-a-twofold-liberty-natural-i-mean-as-our-nature-is-now/) [Alexis De Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Upon my arrival in the United States the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention; and the longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/upon-my-arrival-in-the-united-states-the-religious-aspect-of-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Despotism often presents itself as the repairer of all the ills suffered, the support of just rights, defender of the oppressed, and founder of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/despotism-often-presents-itself-as-the-repairer-of-all-the-ills/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/on-this-waterlogged-landscape-are-scattered-palaces-and-hovels-it-is/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/despotism-may-govern-without-faith-but-liberty-cannot/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) [Explore all 438 Alexis de Tocqueville quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) ## More Absolutes quotes > [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. But there is perfect injustice, and we know it when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/there-is-no-perfect-justice-just-as-there-is-no-absolute-in-ethics/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [ Their \[the U.S.’s\] defense budget in absolute figures is almost 25 times bigger than Russia’s. This is what in defense is referred to as… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/their-the-u-s-s-defense-budget-in-absolute-figures-is-almost-25-times/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Conservative political opinion in America cleaves to the tradition of the judge as passive interpreter, believing that his absolute loyalty to authoritative law is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/conservative-political-opinion-in-america-cleaves-to-the-tradition-of/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [So many times we come to Jesus in worship and ask Him for things that He already IS and has already done... What a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-nockels/so-many-times-we-come-to-jesus-in-worship-and-ask-him-for-things-that/) [Christy Nockels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-nockels/) > [Those are decisions only the Lord will make. I believe the love of God is absolute. He said he gave his son for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/those-are-decisions-only-the-lord-will-make-i-believe-the-love-of-god/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“The Gods know what it is to be eternal, and they love to toy with mortals who use absolutes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/the-gods-know-what-it-is-to-be-eternal-and-they-love-to-toy-with/) [Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/) > [Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/anarchy-is-the-stepping-stone-to-absolute-power/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [I was asked the other day if I would be interested in the Nobel Prize, but I think that for me it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-was-asked-the-other-day-if-i-would-be-interested-in-the-nobel-prize/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [The only "definitive truth" for Buddhism is the absolute negation of any one truth as the Definitive Truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/the-only-definitive-truth-for-buddhism-is-the-absolute-negation-of/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [The nature of the Absolute is neither perceptible nor imperceptible; and with phenomena it is just the same. But to one who has discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huangbo-xiyun/the-nature-of-the-absolute-is-neither-perceptible-nor-imperceptible/) [Huangbo Xiyun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huangbo-xiyun/) > [Joining a company is an act that calls for absolute loyalty in big matters and little ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-watson/joining-a-company-is-an-act-that-calls-for-absolute-loyalty-in-big/) [Thomas Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-watson/) > [In fine, a life of good or evil, the hope of Heaven or the despair of Hell, Faustus stands as a reminder that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-fine-a-life-of-good-or-evil-the-hope-of-heaven-or-the-despair-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 2,016 Absolutes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It profits me but little, after all, that a vigilant authority always protects the tranquility of my pleasures and constantly averts all dangers from my path, without my care or concern, if this same authority is the absolute master of my liberty and my life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexis de Tocqueville" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/it-profits-me-but-little-after-all-that-a-vigilant-authority-always/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absolutes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/it-profits-me-but-little-after-all-that-a-vigilant-authority-always/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_absolutes_it-profits-me-but-little-after-all-that_2710079.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_absolutes_it-profits-me-but-little-after-all-that_2710079.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_absolutes_it-profits-me-but-little-after-all-that_2710079.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It profits me but little, after all, that a vigilant authority always protects the tranquility of my…” — Alexis de Tocqueville", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alexis de Tocqueville", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It profits me but little, after...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/it-profits-me-but-little-after-all-that-a-vigilant-authority-always/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/it-profits-me-but-little-after-all-that-a-vigilant-authority-always/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```