--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The debates of that great assembly are…" description: "\"The debates of that great assembly are frequently vague and perplexed, seeming to be dragged rather than to march, to the intended goal. Something of t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81b/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_assembly_the-debates-of-that-great-assembly-are-f_1690011.png" --- # The debates of that great assembly are frequently vague… ![“The debates of that great assembly are frequently vague and perplexed, seeming to be dragged rather than to march, to the intended goal. Something of this sort must, I think, always happen in public democratic assemblies.” quote by Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81b/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_assembly_the-debates-of-that-great-assembly-are-f_1690011.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81b/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_assembly_the-debates-of-that-great-assembly-are-f_1690011.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81b/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_assembly_the-debates-of-that-great-assembly-are-f_1690011.png) > “The debates of that great assembly are frequently vague and perplexed, seeming to be dragged rather than to march, to the intended goal. Something of this sort must, I think, always happen in public democratic assemblies.” [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. Public assemblies often become vague and indecisive, a common flaw in democratic deliberation. **In simple terms:** Democratic meetings can lose focus and direction. Key Takeaway Structure discussions to stay goal‑oriented. Themes democracy politics communication Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - city council meetings - parliamentary sessions - community forums Key Concepts deliberation public discourse group dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What methods keep democratic debates productive? - How can participants avoid being dragged away from goals? A Different Perspective Complex issues may resist simple resolution. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Vague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vague/) ## Related quotes > [The public, therefore, among a democratic people, has a singular power, which aristocratic nations cannot conceive; for it does not persuade others to its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-public-therefore-among-a-democratic-people-has-a-singular-power/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Once wide coercive powers are given to governmental agencies for particular purposes, such powers cannot be effectively controlled by democratic assemblies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/once-wide-coercive-powers-are-given-to-governmental-agencies-for/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [I used to love assemblies because it got me out of class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-oates/i-used-to-love-assemblies-because-it-got-me-out-of-class/) [John Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-oates/) > [ \[Regarding legislative assemblies,\] the number ought at most to be kept within a certain limit, in order to avoid the confusion and intemperance of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/regarding-legislative-assemblies-the-number-ought-at-most-to-be-kept/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [To have two Legislative Assemblies in the United Kingdom would, in my opinion, be an intolerable mischief; and I think no sensible man can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bright/to-have-two-legislative-assemblies-in-the-united-kingdom-would-in-my/) [John Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bright/) > [I'm an amateur at music and an amateur at most things. I like the idea of offering some music and some records and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-furman/i-m-an-amateur-at-music-and-an-amateur-at-most-things-i-like-the-idea/) [Ezra Furman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-furman/) > [Being a resident of the city and spending most of my time in the city, I've always been perplexed with how people could say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boyle/being-a-resident-of-the-city-and-spending-most-of-my-time-in-the-city/) Brian Boyle > [Perplexed and troubled at his bad success The Tempter stood, nor had what to reply, Discovered in his fraud, thrown from his hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/perplexed-and-troubled-at-his-bad-success-the-tempter-stood-nor-had/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [“Finding this, she was much perplexed as to Henchard's motives in opening the matter at all; for in such cases we attribute to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/finding-this-she-was-much-perplexed-as-to-henchard-s-motives-in/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [I must still look perplexed because Gale delivers the next line very slowly. “Katniss…he’s still trying to keep you alive.” To keep me alive?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-must-still-look-perplexed-because-gale-delivers-the-next-line-very/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [It is said that Windham, when he came to the end of a speech, often found himself so perplexed by his own subtlety that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-william-hare/it-is-said-that-windham-when-he-came-to-the-end-of-a-speech-often/) [Augustus William Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-william-hare/) > [Men and women with freed minds may often be mistaken, but they are seldom fooled. They may be influenced, but they cannot be intimidated.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/men-and-women-with-freed-minds-may-often-be-mistaken-but-they-are/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [He was so excited by this little bit of intelligence that he might have gone off, perplexed, pondering for a long time. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/he-was-so-excited-by-this-little-bit-of-intelligence-that-he-might/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [The cars of the migrant people crawled out of the side roads onto the great cross-country highway, and they took the migrant way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/the-cars-of-the-migrant-people-crawled-out-of-the-side-roads-onto-the/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I'm very excited about my new Spotify account, which gives me access to twenty gazillion songs any time, all the time. The day I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-orlean/i-m-very-excited-about-my-new-spotify-account-which-gives-me-access/) [Susan Orlean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-orlean/) ## 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 Assembly quotes > [We can see nothing whatever of the soul unless it is visible in the expression of the countenance; one might call the faces at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/we-can-see-nothing-whatever-of-the-soul-unless-it-is-visible-in-the/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [ Mac \[Barnett\] and I prank each other during our presentation. We show baby pictures of each other looking completely ridiculous. I can't believe the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jory-john/mac-barnett-and-i-prank-each-other-during-our-presentation-we-show/) [Jory John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jory-john/) > [She went from opera, park, assembly, play, To morning walks, and prayers three hours a day. To part her time 'twixt reading and bohea,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/she-went-from-opera-park-assembly-play-to-morning-walks-and-prayers/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [We stand today at the threshold of a great event both in the life of the United Nations and in the life of mankind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/we-stand-today-at-the-threshold-of-a-great-event-both-in-the-life-of/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [Club: An assembly of good fellows, meeting under certain conditions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/club-an-assembly-of-good-fellows-meeting-under-certain-conditions/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Yet if anyone cares to read over the now crumbling minutes giving an account of the meetings at which the Italian Fasci di Combattimento…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benito-mussolini/yet-if-anyone-cares-to-read-over-the-now-crumbling-minutes-giving-an/) [Benito Mussolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benito-mussolini/) > [To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/to-that-world-assembly-of-sovereign-states-the-united-nations-our/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“Liberalism is a creation of the seventeenth century, fathered by British philosopher John Locke (1632–1704). For Locke, liberalism means limited government, the rule of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-boghossian/liberalism-is-a-creation-of-the-seventeenth-century-fathered-by/) [Peter Boghossian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-boghossian/) > [Well I'm not dancing," Will said through gritted teeth. "I don't know how." Oh yes you are," Alyss told him. "Let's hope you're a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/well-i-m-not-dancing-will-said-through-gritted-teeth-i-don-t-know-how/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [For you deal here above all with human life, and human life is sacred; no one may dare make an attempt upon it. Respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-paul-vi/for-you-deal-here-above-all-with-human-life-and-human-life-is-sacred/) [Pope Paul VI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-paul-vi/) > [I was a star campaigner for the Aruvikkara byelection and the assembly elections. They were very valuable experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suresh-gopi/i-was-a-star-campaigner-for-the-aruvikkara-byelection-and-the/) [Suresh Gopi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suresh-gopi/) > [One cannot walk through an assembly factory and not feel that one is in Hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/one-cannot-walk-through-an-assembly-factory-and-not-feel-that-one-is/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [If you wait for a perfect church, you must wait until you get to heaven; and even if you could find a perfect assembly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/if-you-wait-for-a-perfect-church-you-must-wait-until-you-get-to/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [No harm will come to me. The Assembly is prepared to treat us leniently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-antoinette/no-harm-will-come-to-me-the-assembly-is-prepared-to-treat-us-leniently/) [Marie Antoinette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-antoinette/) > [Every year, the United Nations General Assembly votes on a resolution entitled 'Peaceful resolution of the Palestine conflict.' Every year, the vote is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-finkelstein/every-year-the-united-nations-general-assembly-votes-on-a-resolution/) [Norman Finkelstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-finkelstein/) Browse all 409 Assembly quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The debates of that great assembly are frequently vague and perplexed, seeming to be dragged rather than to march, to the intended goal. 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