By obliging men to turn their attention to other affairs than their own, it rubs off that private selfishness which is the rust of society. Alexis de Tocqueville More Quotes by Alexis de Tocqueville More Quotes From Alexis de Tocqueville To commit violent and unjust acts, it is not enough for a government to have the will or even the power; the habits, ideas and passions of the time must lend themselves to their committal. Alexis de Tocqueville passiongovernmentideas If a [democratic] society displays less brilliance than an aristocracy, there will also be less wretchedness; pleasures will be less outrageous and wellbeing will be shared by all; the sciences will be on a smaller scale but ignorance will be less common; opinions will be less vigorous and habits gentler; you will notice more vices and fewer crimes. Alexis de Tocqueville aristocracyvicesignorance The French constitute the most brilliant and the most dangerous nation in Europe and the best qualified in turn to become an object of admiration, hatred, pity or terror but never indifference. Alexis de Tocqueville brillianthatredeurope The power of the periodical press is second only to that of the people. Alexis de Tocqueville pressespowerpeople The more alike men are, the weaker each feels in the face of all. Alexis de Tocqueville facesfeelsmen The main business of religions is to purify, control, and restrain that excessive and exclusive taste for well-being which men acquire in times of equality. Alexis de Tocqueville equalitybusinessmen Whatever may be the general endeavor of a community to render its members equal and alike, the personal pride of individuals will always seek to rise above the line, and to form somewhere an inequality to their own advantage. Alexis de Tocqueville linescommunitypride To get the inestimable good that freedom of the press assures one must know how to submit to the inevitable evil it gives rise to. Alexis de Tocqueville inevitableevilgiving You need not value it yourself if you do not wish to; but you ought to allow it to us who do value it. Alexis de Tocqueville atheismwishneeds Among the laws controlling human societies there is one more precise and clearer, it seems to me, than all the others. If men are to remain civilized or to become civilized, the art of association must develop and improve among them at the same speed as equality of conditions spreads. Alexis de Tocqueville lawmenart In no other country in the world is the love of property keener or more alert than in the United States, and nowhere else does the majority display less inclination toward doctrines which in any way threaten the way property is owned. Alexis de Tocqueville lovecountryamerica The Americans never use the word peasant, because they have no idea of the class which that term denotes; the ignorance of more remote ages, the simplicity of rural life, and the rusticity of the villager have not been preserved among them; and they are alike unacquainted with the virtues, the vices, the coarse habits, and the simple graces of an early stage of civilization. Alexis de Tocqueville ignorancesimplecivilization 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 greatnesslyingamerica Furthermore, when citizens are all almost equal, it becomes difficult for them to defend their independence against the aggressions of power. Alexis de Tocqueville independencedifficultcitizens European Christianity has allowed itself to be intimately united with the powers of this world. Now that these powers are falling, it is as if it were buried under their ruins. Alexis de Tocqueville churchworldfall [R]eligion cannot share the material strength of the rulers without being burdened with some of the animosity roused against them. Alexis de Tocqueville stateschurchshare I considered mores to be one of the great general causes responsible for the maintenance of a democratic republic . . . the term "mores" . . . meaning . . . habits of the heart. Alexis de Tocqueville republicmaintenanceheart Among a democratic people, where there is no hereditary wealth, every man works to earn a living, or is born of parents who have worked. The notion of labor is therefore presented to the mind, on every side, as the necessary, natural, and honest condition. Alexis de Tocqueville workmenpeople I see no clear reason why the doctrine of self-interest properly understood should turn men away from religious beliefs. Alexis de Tocqueville religiousselfmen The foremost or indeed sole condition required in order to succeed in centralizing the supreme power in a democratic community is to love equality or to get men to believe you love it. Thus, the science of despotism, which was once so complex, has been simplified and reduced, as it were, to a single principle. Alexis de Tocqueville menorderbelieve
