Nature secretly avenges herself for the constraint imposed upon her by the laws of man.

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).

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.

Society is endangered not by the great profligacy of a few, but by the laxity of morals amongst all.

When an American asks for the cooperation of his fellow citizens, it is seldom refused; and I have often seen it afforded spontaneously and with great good will.

He [Napoleon] was as great as a man can be without morality.

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