The position of the Americans is quite exceptional, and it may be believed that no democratic people will ever be placed in a similar one.

The principle of equality does not destroy the imagination, but lowers its flight to the level of the earth.

Of all nations, those submit to civilization with the most difficulty which habitually live by the chase.

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.

I avow that I do not hold that complete and instantaneous love for the freedom of the press that one accords to things whose nature is unqualifiedly good. I love it out of consideration for the evils it prevents much more than for the good it does.

What is not yet done is only what we have not yet attempted to do.

When the reality of power has been surrendered, it's playing a dangerous game to seek to retain the appearance of it; the external aspect of vigor can sometimes support a debilitated body, but most often it manages to deal it the final blow.