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Wherefore governments rather depend upon men, than men upon governments. Let men be good, and the government cannot be bad; if it be ill, they will cure it. But, if men be bad, let the government be never so good, they will endeavor to warp and spoil it to their turn.

— William Penn Frame of Government (1682)

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More quotes by William Penn

They have a Right to censure, that have a Heart to help: The rest is Cruelty, not Justice.

Fruits of Solitude (1682)

True religion does not draw men out of the world but enables them to live better in it and excites their endeavors to mend it.

No Cross, No Crown (1682)

He that does good for good's sake seeks neither praise nor reward, though sure of both at last.

Some Fruits of Solitude in Reflections and Maxims (1682)

Lest, selling that noble inheritance for a poor mess of perishing pottage, you never enter into His eternal rest.

True silence is the rest of the mind, and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment.

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Attribution

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