20 quotes
When the sword is once drawn, the passions of men observe no bounds of moderation.
The Federalist Papers (1787)
In the general course of human nature, a power over a man's subsistence amounts to a power over his will.
The Federalist Papers (1787)
For why declare that things shall not be done which there is no power to do?
The Federalist Papers (1787)
The rights of neutrality will only be respected, when they are defended by an adequate power. A nation, despicable by its weakness, forfeits even the privilege of being neutral.
The Federalist Papers (1787)
In the usual progress of things, the necessities of a nation in every stage of its existence will be found at least equal to its resources.
The Federalist Papers (1787)
Why has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice, without constraint.
The Federalist Papers (1787)
A tolerable expertness in military movements is a business that requires time and practice. It is not a day, or even a week, that will suffice for the attainment of it.
The Federalist Papers (1787)
There is yet a further and a weightier reason for the permanency of the Judicial offices, which is deducible from the nature of the qualifications they require.
The Federalist Papers (1787)
In politics, as in religion, it is equally absurd to aim at making proselytes by fire and sword. Heresies in either can rarely be cured by persecution.
The Federalist Papers (1787)
Government implies the power of making laws. It is essential to the idea of a law, that it be attended with a sanction; or, in other words, a penalty or punishment for disobedience.
The Federalist Papers (1787)
A council to a magistrate, who is himself responsible for what he does, are generally nothing better than a clog upon his good intentions, are often the instruments and accomplices of his bad and are almost always a cloak to his faults.
The Federalist Papers (1787)
There are men who could neither be distressed nor won into a sacrifice of their duty; but this stern virtue is the growth of few soils; and in the main it will be found that a power over a man's support is a power over his will.
The Federalist Papers (1787)
The system, though it may not be perfect in every part, is, upon the whole, a good one; is the best that the present views and circumstances of the country will permit; and is such an one as promises every species of security which a reasonable people can desire.
The Federalist Papers (1787)
Little more can reasonably be aimed at, with respect to the people at large, than to have them properly armed and equipped; and in order to see that this be not neglected, it will be necessary to assemble them once or twice in the course of a year.
The Federalist Papers (1787)
The courts must declare the sense of the law; and if they should be disposed to exercise Will instead of Judgment, the consequence would equally be the substitution of their pleasure to that of the legislative body.
The Federalist Papers (1787)
To look for a continuation of harmony between a number of independent, unconnected sovereignties in the same neighborhood, would be to disregard the uniform course of human events, and to set at defiance the accumulated experience of ages.
The Federalist Papers (1787)
Let us recollect that peace or war will not always be left to our option; that however moderate or unambitious we may be, we cannot count upon the moderation, or hope to extinguish the ambition of others.
The Federalist Papers (1787)
The fabric of American Empire ought to rest on the solid basis of THE CONSENT OF THE PEOPLE. The streams of National power ought to flow immediately from that pure original fountain of all legitimate authority.
The Federalist Papers (1787)
When occasions present themselves, in which the interests of the people are at variance with their inclinations, it is the duty of the persons whom they have appointed to be the guardians of those interests, to withstand the temporary delusion, in order to give them time and opportunity for more cool and sedate reflection.
The Federalist Papers (1787)
The creation of crimes after the commission of the fact, or, in other words, the subjecting of men to punishment for things which, when they were done, were breaches of no law, and the practice of arbitrary imprisonments, have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.
The Federalist Papers (1787)