There are things one does not say for a long time, but, once they are said, one never stops repeating them.
Benjamin ConstantEvery time government attempts to handle our affairs, it costs more and the results are worse than if we had handled them ourselves.
Benjamin ConstantArt for art's sake, with no purpose, for any purpose perverts art. But art achieves a purpose which is not its own. (1804)
Benjamin ConstantThe great question in life is the suffering we cause, and the most ingenious metaphysics do not justify the man who has broken the heart that loved him.
Benjamin ConstantThere is a bizarre notion according to which it is claimed that because men are corrupt, it is necessary to give certain of them all the more power... on the contrary, they must be given less power.
Benjamin ConstantThe people who, in order to enjoy the liberty which suites them, resort to the representative system, must exercise an active and constant surveillance over their representatives, and reserve for themselves...the right to discard them if they betray their trust, and to revoke the powers which them might have abused.
Benjamin Constant