[R]eligion cannot share the material strength of the rulers without being burdened with some of the animosity roused against them. Alexis de Tocqueville More Quotes by Alexis de Tocqueville More Quotes From Alexis de Tocqueville The character of Anglo-American civilization . . . is the product . . . of two perfectly distinct elements that elsewhere have often made war with each other, but which, in America, they have succeeded in incorporating somehow into one another and combining marvelously. I mean to speak of the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom. Alexis de Tocqueville character war mean Not only does democracy make every man forget his ancestors, but also clouds their view of their descendants and isolates them from their contemporaries. Each man is for ever thrown back on himself alone, and there is danger that he may be shut up in the solitude of his own heart. Alexis de Tocqueville clouds heart men In the United States, except for slaves, servants and the destitute fed by townships, everyone has the vote and this is an indirect contributor to law-making. Anyone wishing to attack the Alexis de Tocqueville law feet two In democratic countries, however opulent a man is supposed to be, he is almost always discontented with his fortune, because he finds that he is less rich than his father was, and he fears that his sons will be less rich than himself. Alexis de Tocqueville country father son Men living in democratic times have many passions, but most of their passions either end in the love of riches, or proceed from it. Alexis de Tocqueville riches passion men The first who attracts the eye, the first in enlightenment, in power and in happiness, is the white man, the European, man par excellence; below him appear the Negro and the Indian. These two unfortunate races have neither birth, nor face, nor language, nor mores in common; only their misfortunes look alike. Both occupy an equally inferior position in the country that they inhabit; both experience the effects of tyranny; and if their miseries are different, they can accuse the same author for them. Alexis de Tocqueville eye men country Democracy does not create strong ties between people. But it does make living together easier. Alexis de Tocqueville freedom ties strong In America a woman loses her independence for ever in the bonds of matrimony. While there is less constraint on girls there than anywhere else, a wife submits to stricter obligations. For the former, her father's house is a home of freedom and pleasure; for the latter, her husband's is almost a cloister. Alexis de Tocqueville marriage husband girl I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within it, nowhere does she enjoy a higher station. And if anyone asks me what I think the chief cause of the extraordinary prosperity and growing power of this nation, I should answer that it is due to the superiority of their women. Alexis de Tocqueville women doe thinking There is one universal law that has been formed, or at least adoptedby the majority of mankind. That law is justice. Justice forms the cornerstone of each nation's law. Alexis de Tocqueville majority law justice As I see it, only God can be all-powerful without danger, because his wisdom and justice are always equal to his power. Thus there is no authority on earth so inherently worthy of respect, or invested with a right so sacred, that I would want to let it act without oversight or rule without impediment (p. 290). Alexis de Tocqueville powerful earth justice There are at the present time two great nations in the world - allude to the Russians and the Americans. All other nations seem to have nearly reached their national limits, and have only to maintain their power; these alone are proceeding along a path to which no limit can be perceived. Alexis de Tocqueville limits two world The man who submits to violence is debased by his compliance; but when he submits to that right of authority which he acknowledges in a fellow creature, he rises in some measure above the person who give the command. Alexis de Tocqueville violence giving men I cannot believe that a republic could subsist if the influence of the lawyers in public business did not increase in proportion to the power of the people. Alexis de Tocqueville republic believe people Step back in time; look closely at the child in the very arms of his mother; see the external world reflected for the first time in the yet unclear mirror of his understanding; study the first examples which strike his eyes; listen to the first words which arouse within him the slumbering power of thought; watch the first struggles which he has to undergo; only then will you comprehend the source of his prejudices, the habits, and the passions which are to rule his life. The entire man, so to speak, comes fully formed in the wrappings of his cradle. Alexis de Tocqueville struggle mother children A man who raises himself by degrees to wealth and power, contracts, in the course of this protracted labor, habits of prudence and restraint which he cannot afterwards shake off. A man cannot gradually enlarge his mind as he does his house. Alexis de Tocqueville house success men The last thing a political party gives up is its vocabulary. Alexis de Tocqueville vocabulary giving-up party In democracies, nothing is more great or more brilliant than commerce: it attracts the attention of the public, and fills the imagination of the multitude; all energetic passions are directed towards it. Alexis de Tocqueville passion democracy imagination Democratic institutions generally give men a lofty notion of their country and themselves. Alexis de Tocqueville giving men country In countries where associations are free, secret societies are unknown. In America there are factions, but no conspiracies. Alexis de Tocqueville secret country america
