It must not be forgotten that it is especially dangerous to enslave men in the minor details of life. For my part, I should be inclined to think freedom less necessary in the great things than in the little ones, if it were possible to be secure of the one without the other.

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

Comfort becomes a goal when distinctions of rank are abolished and privileges destroyed.

The evil which one suffers patiently as inevitable seems insupportable as soon as he conceives the idea of escaping from it.

The health of a democratic society may be measured by the quality of functions performed by private citizens.

When the people rule, they must be rendered happy, or they will overturn the state.

It is indeed difficult to imagine how men who have entirely renounced the habit of managing their own affairs could be successful in choosing those who ought to lead them. It is impossible to believe that a liberal, energetic, and wise government can ever emerge from the ballots of a nation of servants.