“ He who in given cases consents to obey his fellows with servility, and who submits his will, and even his thoughts, to their control, how can he pretend that he wishes to be free? Alexis de Tocqueville
“ What good does it do me, after all, if an ever-watchful authority keeps an eye out to ensure that my pleasures will be tranquil and races ahead of me to ward off all danger, sparing me the need even t… Alexis de Tocqueville
“ Slavery received, but the prejudice to which it has given birth remains stationary. Alexis de Tocqueville
“ Durability is one of the chief elements of strength. Nothing is either loved or feared but that which is likely to endure. Alexis de Tocqueville
“ It's not an endlessly expanding list of rights — the 'right' to education, the 'right' to health care, the 'right' to food and housing. That's not freedom, that's dependency. Those aren't rights, thos… Alexis de Tocqueville
“ In such an admirable position of the New World, man has no other enemy than himself. Alexis de Tocqueville
“ What is called family pride is often founded on the illusion of self-love. A man wishes to perpetuate and immortalize himself. Alexis de Tocqueville
“ Men will not accept truth at the hands of their enemies, and truth is seldom offered to them by their friends Alexis de Tocqueville
“ Society is endangered not by the great profligacy of a few, but by the laxity of morals amongst all. Alexis de Tocqueville
“ The surface of American society is covered with a layer of democracy, from beneath which the old aristocratic colors sometimes peep. Alexis de Tocqueville
“ The greatest difficulty in antiquity with that of altering the law; among the moderns, it is that of altering the manners. Alexis de Tocqueville
“ There is a natural prejudice which prompts men to despise whomsoever has been their inferior long after he has become their equal. Alexis de Tocqueville
“ Nations as well as men require time to learn, whatever may be their intelligence or zeal. Alexis de Tocqueville
“ Under the absolute sway of an individual despot the body was attacked in order to subdue the soul, and the soul escaped the blows which were directed against it and rose superior to the attempt; but s… Alexis de Tocqueville
“ There is no country in the world in which everything can be provided for by laws, or in which political institutions can prove a substitute for common sense and public morality. Alexis de Tocqueville
“ In America religion is the road to knowledge, and the observance of the divine laws leads man to civil freedom. Alexis de Tocqueville
“ The practice which obtains amongst the Americans of fixing the standard of their judgment in themselves alone, leads them to other habits of mind. As they perceive that they succeed in resolving witho… Alexis de Tocqueville
“ For benefits by their very greatness spotlight the difference in conditions and arouse a secret annoyance in those who profit from them. But the charm of simple good manners is almost irresistible. Alexis de Tocqueville
“ Nothing is more necessary to the culture of the higher sciences, or of the more elevated departments of science, than meditation; and nothing is less suited to meditation than the structure of democra… Alexis de Tocqueville
