Foundation Quote by John Adams

Public virtue cannot exist in a nation without private, and public virtue is the only foundation of republics

— John Adams

There can be no public or private virtue unless the foundation of action is the practice of truth.

— George Holyoake

For when was public virtue to be found Where private was not?

— William Cowper

When was public virtue to be found when private was not?

— William Cowper

Virtue is necessary to a republic.

— Baron de Montesquieu

Republics demanded virtue. Monarchies could rely on coercion and "dazzling splendor" to suppress self-interest or factions; republics relied on the goodness of the people…

— James Monroe

That public virtue which among the ancients was denominated patriotism, is derived from a strong sense of our own interest in the preservation and…

— Edward Gibbon

The diminution of public virtue is usually attended with that of public happiness, and the public liberty will not long survive the total extinction…

— Samuel Adams

Virtue in a republic is the love of one's country, that is the love of equality.

— Baron de Montesquieu

Personal virtue is no substitute for political hard-headedness.

— Margaret Thatcher

When public virtue is gone, when the national spirit is fled the republic is lost in essence, though it may still exist in form

— John Adams

In the long run, the public interest depends on private virtue.

— James Q. Wilson