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When kings the sword of justice first lay down,
They are no kings, though they possess the crown.
Titles are shadows, crowns are empty things,
The good of subjects is the end of kings.

— Daniel Defoe The True-Born Englishman (1701)

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More quotes by Daniel Defoe

The best of men cannot suspend their fate:
The good die early, and the bad die late.

Character of the Late Dr. S. Annesley (1715)

'Tis very strange Men should be so fond of being thought wickeder than they are.

A System of Magick (1726)

Wherever God erects a house of prayer,
The Devil always builds a chapel there;
And 'twill be found, upon examination,
The latter has the largest congregation.

The True-Born Englishman (1701)

Nature has left this tincture in the blood,
That all men would be tyrants if they could.

The Kentish Petition (1701)

It is never too late to be wise.

Robinson Crusoe (1719)

All Daniel Defoe quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Daniel Defoe (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.