"No government can be maintained without the..." - Quote by Thomas Jefferson
No government can be maintained without the principle of fear as well as duty. Good men will obey the last, but bad ones the former only. If our government ever fails, it will be from this weakness.
More by Thomas Jefferson
“No man has greater confidence than I have in the spirit of the people, to a rational extent. Whatever they can, they will.”
“Resolved ... that it would be a dangerous delusion were a confidence in the men of our choice to silence our fears for the safety of our rights: that confidence is everywhere the parent of despotism - free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence.”
“Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.”
More on Government
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“Praise is the daughter of present power.”
“There are two histories : official history, lying, and then secret history, where you find the real causes of events.”
“If you have ever seen a four-year-old trying to lord it over a two-year-old, then you know what the basic problem of human nature is - and why government keeps growing larger and ever more intrusive.”