{ "type": "topic", "site": { "name": "Leafy Quotes", "language": "en", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com" }, "formats": "Every page has two versions with the same data: JSON (the page address + .json) and markdown (the page address + .md). Append .json or .md to any `url` in this document.", "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics", "heading": "Quotes about politics", "json": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics.json", "markdown": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics.md", "quotes_count": 593, "authors_count": 194, "parent": null, "children": [ { "name": "democracy", "slug": "democracy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/democracy", "heading": "Quotes about democracy" }, { "name": "the state", "slug": "the-state", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/the-state", "heading": "Quotes about the state" }, { "name": "revolution", "slug": "revolution", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/revolution", "heading": "Quotes about revolution" }, { "name": "capitalism", "slug": "capitalism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/capitalism", "heading": "Quotes about capitalism" }, { "name": "corruption", "slug": "corruption", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/corruption", "heading": "Quotes about corruption" }, { "name": "colonialism", "slug": "colonialism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/colonialism", "heading": "Quotes about colonialism" }, { "name": "economy", "slug": "economy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/economy", "heading": "Quotes about economy" }, { "name": "ideology", "slug": "ideology", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/ideology", "heading": "Quotes about ideology" }, { "name": "nationalism", "slug": "nationalism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/nationalism", "heading": "Quotes about nationalism" }, { "name": "socialism", "slug": "socialism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/socialism", "heading": "Quotes about socialism" }, { "name": "communism", "slug": "communism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/communism", "heading": "Quotes about communism" }, { "name": "anarchism", "slug": "anarchism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/anarchism", "heading": "Quotes about anarchism" } ], "quotes": [ { "id": "40355322-f316-4a7e-91dd-b322616991b6", "slug": "politics-can-only", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brian-keenan/an-evil-cradling/politics-can-only", "text": "Politics can only be a small part of what we are. It’s a way of seeing, it’s not all-seeing in itself, and people like me, who were fortunate enough to be born and educated before the start of the tragedy that has engulfed the North of Ireland, found the panacea of politics to be a bitter cul-de-sac.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Brian Keenan", "slug": "brian-keenan", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brian-keenan" }, "book": { "title": "An Evil Cradling", "slug": "an-evil-cradling", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brian-keenan/an-evil-cradling" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Brian_Keenan_(writer)#An_Evil_Cradling_(1992)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:05:57" }, { "id": "7c3a69bc-debf-46ad-9ee1-d9fab9076a91", "slug": "what-were-doing", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-s-a-corey/leviathan-falls/what-were-doing", "text": "“What we’re doing here is bigger than politics.” “I know,” he said. “I just keep hoping the politicians see it too.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "James S. A. Corey", "slug": "james-s-a-corey", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-s-a-corey" }, "book": { "title": "Leviathan Falls", "slug": "leviathan-falls", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-s-a-corey/leviathan-falls" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 50, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_S._A._Corey#Leviathan_Falls_(2021)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:05:38" }, { "id": "4745f4e8-25c1-4610-a77b-bb8b4ef5e615", "slug": "its-the-problem", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-s-a-corey/leviathan-wakes/its-the-problem", "text": "It’s the problem with politics. Your enemies are often your allies. And vice versa.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "James S. A. Corey", "slug": "james-s-a-corey", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-s-a-corey" }, "book": { "title": "Leviathan Wakes", "slug": "leviathan-wakes", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-s-a-corey/leviathan-wakes" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 194, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_S._A._Corey#Leviathan_Wakes_(2011)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:05:34" }, { "id": "e09063c0-e77f-4168-a2b0-b744f1642afb", "slug": "we-have-reached", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lev-grossman/the-magicians/we-have-reached", "text": "We have reached the point where ignorance and neglect are the best we can hope for in a ruler.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Lev Grossman", "slug": "lev-grossman", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lev-grossman" }, "book": { "title": "The Magicians", "slug": "the-magicians", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lev-grossman/the-magicians" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 317, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lev_Grossman#The_Magicians_(2009)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:05:14" }, { "id": "41aca434-e464-4679-bc2c-5be34e6ad6c1", "slug": "politics-he-spat", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/catherine-webb/the-first-fifteen-lives-of-harry-august/politics-he-spat", "text": "“Politics,” he spat. “Everyone is always looking for material to use against everybody else.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Catherine Webb", "slug": "catherine-webb", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/catherine-webb" }, "book": { "title": "The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August", "slug": "the-first-fifteen-lives-of-harry-august", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/catherine-webb/the-first-fifteen-lives-of-harry-august" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 193, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Catherine_Webb#The_First_Fifteen_Lives_of_Harry_August_(2014)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:04:45" }, { "id": "35425415-57b7-44bb-a099-807c1b54e66e", "slug": "in-politics-wishful", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edgar-pangborn/a-mirror-for-observers/in-politics-wishful", "text": "In politics, wishful thinking just gives the wolves a license to howl.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edgar Pangborn", "slug": "edgar-pangborn", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edgar-pangborn" }, "book": { "title": "A Mirror for Observers", "slug": "a-mirror-for-observers", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edgar-pangborn/a-mirror-for-observers" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 53, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edgar_Pangborn#A_Mirror_for_Observers_(1954)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:04:39" }, { "id": "8be54dff-8003-44f3-b4dd-93a810f8e9a0", "slug": "wars-are-a-summer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-eddings/the-redemption-of-althalus/wars-are-a-summer", "text": "Wars are a summer pastime, Althalus. Politics is a year-round entertainment.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "David Eddings", "slug": "david-eddings", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-eddings" }, "book": { "title": "The Redemption of Althalus", "slug": "the-redemption-of-althalus", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-eddings/the-redemption-of-althalus" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "war", "slug": "war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/war" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Eddings#Part_II_cap_18", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:04:23" }, { "id": "814627bb-9f7b-4a4c-ae27-0d2d3d4c068a", "slug": "wolsey-always-said", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hilary-mantel/wolf-hall/wolsey-always-said", "text": "Wolsey always said that the making of a treaty is the treaty. It doesn’t matter what the terms are, just that there are terms. It’s the goodwill that matters. When that runs out, the treaty is broken, whatever the terms say.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Hilary Mantel", "slug": "hilary-mantel", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hilary-mantel" }, "book": { "title": "Wolf Hall", "slug": "wolf-hall", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hilary-mantel/wolf-hall" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 361, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "trust", "slug": "trust", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/trust" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hilary_Mantel#Wolf_Hall_(2009)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:04:20" }, { "id": "bdf8ee57-560f-4d0f-a2b0-820ed32ecda4", "slug": "when-politicians-use", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/chris-mooney/the-republican-war-on-science/when-politicians-use", "text": "When politicians use bad science to justify themselves, rather than good science to make up their minds, we can safely assume that wrongheaded and even disastrous decisions lie ahead.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Chris Mooney", "slug": "chris-mooney", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/chris-mooney" }, "book": { "title": "The Republican War on Science", "slug": "the-republican-war-on-science", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/chris-mooney/the-republican-war-on-science" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 242, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "science", "slug": "science", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/science" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Chris_Mooney#The_Republican_War_on_Science_(2005)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:04:00" }, { "id": "d0ce54a1-74d8-4384-8655-dfb10fe27633", "slug": "scrabbling-like-mad", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/william-tenn/the-wooden-star/scrabbling-like-mad", "text": "Scrabbling like mad at their beloved fence, the politicians tried to avoid taking a definite position on either side.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "William Tenn", "slug": "william-tenn", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/william-tenn" }, "book": { "title": "The Wooden Star", "slug": "the-wooden-star", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/william-tenn/the-wooden-star" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 234, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "cowardice", "slug": "cowardice", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/cowardice" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Tenn#The_Wooden_Star_(1968)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:58" }, { "id": "7622219f-27c1-4ab6-81cd-231d530a536c", "slug": "the-sad-truth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/william-tenn/the-seven-sexes/the-sad-truth", "text": "The sad truth about political saints of any given past is that nobody but a scholar will take the trouble to read their complete works and try to see them whole.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "William Tenn", "slug": "william-tenn", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/william-tenn" }, "book": { "title": "The Seven Sexes", "slug": "the-seven-sexes", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/william-tenn/the-seven-sexes" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 147, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "history", "slug": "history", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/history" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Tenn#The_Seven_Sexes_(1968)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:58" }, { "id": "7c68ec5a-7ebf-4c07-9836-09f6643df683", "slug": "oh-diplomacy-said", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-mitchell/cloud-atlas/oh-diplomacy-said", "text": "\"Oh, diplomacy,\" said M.D., in his element, \"it mops up war’s spillages; legitimizes its outcomes; gives the strong state the means to impose its will on a weaker one, while saving its fleets and battalions for weightier opponents.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "David Mitchell", "slug": "david-mitchell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-mitchell" }, "book": { "title": "Cloud Atlas", "slug": "cloud-atlas", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-mitchell/cloud-atlas" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 444, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "war", "slug": "war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/war" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cloud_Atlas_(novel)#Letters_from_Zedelghem_(Part_2)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:57" }, { "id": "cd159d99-96b1-4abd-909f-d4c00070d6d8", "slug": "in-a-million", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/arthur-c-clarke/2001-a-space-odyssey/in-a-million", "text": "In a million years, the human race had lost few of its aggressive instincts; along symbolic lines visible only to politicians, the thirty-eight nuclear powers watched one another with belligerent anxiety.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Arthur C. Clarke", "slug": "arthur-c-clarke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/arthur-c-clarke" }, "book": { "title": "2001: A Space Odyssey", "slug": "2001-a-space-odyssey", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/arthur-c-clarke/2001-a-space-odyssey" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "war", "slug": "war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/war" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "instinct", "slug": "instinct", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/instinct" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/2001:_A_Space_Odyssey_(novel)#II._TMA-1", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:44" }, { "id": "c4d42b2e-f5a8-4b24-89c1-b15407bfd7ae", "slug": "drawing-distinctions-between", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/haruki-murakami/1q84/drawing-distinctions-between", "text": "Drawing distinctions between religions and cults has always been a delicate business. There’s no hard and fast definition. Interpretation is everything. And where there is room for interpretation, there is always room for political persuasion.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Haruki Murakami", "slug": "haruki-murakami", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/haruki-murakami" }, "book": { "title": "1Q84", "slug": "1q84", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/haruki-murakami/1q84" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 184, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "religion", "slug": "religion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/religion" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/1Q84#Book_1_(April-June)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:38" }, { "id": "3cf1f08f-4a17-4fc4-b6c7-476657eea7ed", "slug": "political-relations-are", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-v-hamilton/black-power/political-relations-are", "text": "Political relations are based on self-interest: benefits to be gained and losses to be avoided. For the most part, man’s politics is determined by his evaluation of material good and evil. Politics results from a conflict of interests, not of consciences.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Charles V. Hamilton", "slug": "charles-v-hamilton", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-v-hamilton" }, "book": { "title": "Black Power", "slug": "black-power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-v-hamilton/black-power" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 75, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "selfishness", "slug": "selfishness", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/selfishness" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_V._Hamilton#Chapter_Three", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:23" }, { "id": "2aee49ca-3bfa-406d-905c-cd4ea4b73f42", "slug": "before-one-begins", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-v-hamilton/black-power/before-one-begins", "text": "Before one begins to talk coalition, one should establish clearly the premises on which that coalition will be based. All parties to the coalition must perceive a mutually beneficial goal based on the conception of each party of his own self-interest. One party must not blindly assume that what is good for one is automatically—without question—good for the other.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Charles V. Hamilton", "slug": "charles-v-hamilton", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-v-hamilton" }, "book": { "title": "Black Power", "slug": "black-power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-v-hamilton/black-power" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 77, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "cooperation", "slug": "cooperation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/cooperation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_V._Hamilton#Chapter_Three", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:23" }, { "id": "d38db2ec-387c-4ad3-a3fd-8faa14d5d58d", "slug": "the-nice-thing", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jim-c-hines/revisionary/the-nice-thing", "text": "The nice thing about people like Jellybean Man was that I knew exactly where I stood. There was no subtlety, no subterfuge or second-guessing. It was a refreshing change from talking to politicians.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jim C. Hines", "slug": "jim-c-hines", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jim-c-hines" }, "book": { "title": "Revisionary", "slug": "revisionary", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jim-c-hines/revisionary" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 111, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "honesty", "slug": "honesty", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/honesty" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jim_C._Hines#Revisionary_(2016)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:21" }, { "id": "a610d4cd-85b5-4b46-896a-32d34f8adbfe", "slug": "it-isnt-courtly", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ian-tregillis/the-mechanical/it-isnt-courtly", "text": "It isn’t courtly politics if somebody doesn’t get a dagger in the back.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ian Tregillis", "slug": "ian-tregillis", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ian-tregillis" }, "book": { "title": "The Mechanical", "slug": "the-mechanical", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ian-tregillis/the-mechanical" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ian_Tregillis#The_Mechanical_(2015)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:19" }, { "id": "b2495264-5350-4e80-a687-302d63d39a6f", "slug": "and-on-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isabel-allende/the-house-of-the-spirits/and-on-the", "text": "...and on the date stipulated by law the left calmly came to power. And on that date the right began to stockpile hatred. (p392)", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Isabel Allende", "slug": "isabel-allende", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isabel-allende" }, "book": { "title": "The House of the Spirits", "slug": "the-house-of-the-spirits", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isabel-allende/the-house-of-the-spirits" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "hatred", "slug": "hatred", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hatred" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Isabel_Allende#The_House_of_the_Spirits_(1982)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:45" }, { "id": "42d79218-4e51-4975-8ae9-669385063862", "slug": "we-pray-that", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ana-castillo/i-ask-the-impossible/we-pray-that", "text": "We pray that our government's leaders look into their souls, that they think with the heart of a mother in making the decisions that affect the world's populations.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ana Castillo", "slug": "ana-castillo", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ana-castillo" }, "book": { "title": "I Ask the Impossible", "slug": "i-ask-the-impossible", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ana-castillo/i-ask-the-impossible" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "prayer", "slug": "prayer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/prayer" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ana_Castillo#I_Ask_The_Impossible_(2000)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:45" }, { "id": "cd6f60e1-01df-46e8-a7be-fab6beb2955b", "slug": "please-dont-grow", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-hiaasen/flush/please-dont-grow", "text": "\"Please don't grow up to be one of those men who lie for the sport of it, and most men do. That's a fact... That's why the world is so messed-up, Noah. That's why history books are full of so much heartache and tragedy. Politicians, dictators, kings, phony-baloney preachers--most of 'em are men, and most of 'em lie like rugs. Don't you dare grow up to be like that.\"(Chapter 3)", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Carl Hiaasen", "slug": "carl-hiaasen", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-hiaasen" }, "book": { "title": "Flush", "slug": "flush", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-hiaasen/flush" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "lies", "slug": "lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/lies" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_Hiaasen#Flush_(2005)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:40" }, { "id": "f04f7fd3-0cb8-47a5-a6c9-893d9bc75a2c", "slug": "he-won-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-hiaasen/double-whammy/he-won-the", "text": "He won the governorship running as a Democrat, but proved to be unlike any Democrat or Republican that the state of Florida had ever seen. To the utter confusion of everyone in Tallahassee, Clinton Tyree turned out to be a completely honest man. (Chapter 10)", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Carl Hiaasen", "slug": "carl-hiaasen", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-hiaasen" }, "book": { "title": "Double Whammy", "slug": "double-whammy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-hiaasen/double-whammy" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "integrity", "slug": "integrity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/integrity" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_Hiaasen#Double_Whammy_(1987)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:38" }, { "id": "e9286e5b-b836-40b7-af00-7dd29f194f04", "slug": "dyou-know-what", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield/starfire/dyou-know-what", "text": "“D’you know what homeostasis is?” “I used to, before I rotted my brain with politics.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Charles Sheffield", "slug": "charles-sheffield", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield" }, "book": { "title": "Starfire", "slug": "starfire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield/starfire" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 390, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Sheffield#Starfire_(1999)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:36" }, { "id": "b866cf7c-1e4c-4225-8a46-fd56bd63a38f", "slug": "decisions-based-on-incomplete", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield/aftermath/decisions-based-on-incomplete", "text": "Decisions based on incomplete information are one thing, a fact of political life. Decisions made with no information are another.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Charles Sheffield", "slug": "charles-sheffield", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield" }, "book": { "title": "Aftermath", "slug": "aftermath", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield/aftermath" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 58, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "choices", "slug": "choices", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/choices" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Sheffield#Aftermath_(1998)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:35" }, { "id": "300f380f-b231-472c-af86-12173cf35c55", "slug": "the-game-never", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield/starfire/the-game-never", "text": "The game never ended. If Sol were guaranteed to go nova tomorrow, today she would hear from lobbyists for sunscreen.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Charles Sheffield", "slug": "charles-sheffield", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield" }, "book": { "title": "Starfire", "slug": "starfire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield/starfire" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 11, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Sheffield#Starfire_(1999)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:35" }, { "id": "259d2f6e-8b71-4e0f-a58c-6fdfd004a1c4", "slug": "tig-trust-in-government", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield/starfire/tig-trust-in-government", "text": "TIG. Trust In Government. An old political principle, to give your organization a name that’s the opposite of what you mean.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Charles Sheffield", "slug": "charles-sheffield", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield" }, "book": { "title": "Starfire", "slug": "starfire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield/starfire" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 14, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "irony", "slug": "irony", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/irony" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Sheffield#Starfire_(1999)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:35" }, { "id": "19a9a2cf-68c6-4c7a-889b-b6c3c605c38d", "slug": "but-remember-it-was", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield/aftermath/but-remember-it-was", "text": "“But remember, it was all hearsay.” “In Washington, hearsay’s the same as gospel truth.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Charles Sheffield", "slug": "charles-sheffield", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield" }, "book": { "title": "Aftermath", "slug": "aftermath", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield/aftermath" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 454, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "gossip", "slug": "gossip", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/gossip" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Sheffield#Aftermath_(1998)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:35" }, { "id": "00a30ef8-0f0e-49f6-af5a-4a244622db38", "slug": "is-that-what", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield/aftermath/is-that-what", "text": "Is that what it takes to go all the way in politics? Ambition first, everything else back in the pack? And if it is, would any sane human want to have what it takes?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Charles Sheffield", "slug": "charles-sheffield", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield" }, "book": { "title": "Aftermath", "slug": "aftermath", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield/aftermath" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 493, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "ambition", "slug": "ambition", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/ambition" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Sheffield#Aftermath_(1998)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:35" }, { "id": "219cdf14-14e2-4f9e-912a-80f7b9182ca5", "slug": "were-all-here", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield/transcendence/were-all-here", "text": "“We’re all here,” said Louis Nenda’s voice. “Where’s here? Can you see?” “Not a thing. Black as a politician’s heart.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Charles Sheffield", "slug": "charles-sheffield", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield" }, "book": { "title": "Transcendence", "slug": "transcendence", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield/transcendence" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 209, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Sheffield#Transcendence_(1992)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:33" }, { "id": "ef569c6a-9d04-4583-8af8-922da29fbf37", "slug": "to-a-political", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield/proteus-in-the-underworld/to-a-political", "text": "To a political mind, everything is politics.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Charles Sheffield", "slug": "charles-sheffield", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield" }, "book": { "title": "Proteus in the Underworld", "slug": "proteus-in-the-underworld", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield/proteus-in-the-underworld" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 23, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Sheffield#Proteus_In_The_Underworld_(1995)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:32" }, { "id": "0de47650-e437-4356-8046-48a04cbd118c", "slug": "the-large-picture", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/walter-tevis/the-man-who-fell-to-earth/the-large-picture", "text": "The large picture of the heron on the far wall began to fade. When it was gone it was replaced by the head of a handsome man with the falsely serious stare in his eyes that is cultivated by politicians, faith healers, and evangelists.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Walter Tevis", "slug": "walter-tevis", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/walter-tevis" }, "book": { "title": "The Man Who Fell to Earth", "slug": "the-man-who-fell-to-earth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/walter-tevis/the-man-who-fell-to-earth" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 113, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "hypocrisy", "slug": "hypocrisy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hypocrisy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walter_Tevis#The_Man_Who_Fell_to_Earth_(1963)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:25" }, { "id": "da8f919e-2780-4d4e-a2c9-0e71d0e0f244", "slug": "the-national-hot", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/steven-r-boyett/ariel/the-national-hot", "text": "“The National Hot Air Museum is just down the road a piece,” he added. “Better known by its branch names: the Capitol and the White House.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Steven R. Boyett", "slug": "steven-r-boyett", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/steven-r-boyett" }, "book": { "title": "Ariel", "slug": "ariel", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/steven-r-boyett/ariel" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 311, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Steven_Boyett#Ariel_(1983)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:14" }, { "id": "88282de5-6128-4fc7-8cde-4616d4d02770", "slug": "it-was-not", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/fredric-brown/rogue-in-space/it-was-not", "text": "It was not the fashion for politicians who aspired to elective office to live ostentatiously, no matter how much money they had. If they loved luxury—and most of them did—they indulged that love in ways less publicly obvious than by living in mansions. The public believes what it thinks it sees.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Fredric Brown", "slug": "fredric-brown", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/fredric-brown" }, "book": { "title": "Rogue in Space", "slug": "rogue-in-space", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/fredric-brown/rogue-in-space" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 364, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "hypocrisy", "slug": "hypocrisy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hypocrisy" }, { "name": "appearances", "slug": "appearances", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/appearances" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fredric_Brown#Rogue_in_Space_(1957)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:06" }, { "id": "98cb6c77-63fa-4b91-93fc-fe00d7dfb5de", "slug": "he-knew-from", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/shamini-flint/inspector-singh-investigates-a-most-peculiar-malaysian-murder/he-knew-from", "text": "He knew from his own experience in Singapore that the further up the ladder one got, the more the job was about politics and statistics than actually dealing with crime.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Shamini Flint", "slug": "shamini-flint", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/shamini-flint" }, "book": { "title": "Inspector Singh Investigates: A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder", "slug": "inspector-singh-investigates-a-most-peculiar-malaysian-murder", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/shamini-flint/inspector-singh-investigates-a-most-peculiar-malaysian-murder" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Shamini_Flint#Cap_2", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:56" }, { "id": "bdef0ee7-c5cf-47df-a00c-99194b8d000a", "slug": "not-in-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux/not-in-the", "text": "“Not in the least. I have but one ambition.” “And that is — ?” “To be the serviceable slave of my country.” “A master is more serviceable than a slave,” said the old man. “No; no; I deny it. I can admit much from you, but I cannot admit that. The politician who becomes the master of his country sinks from the statesman to the tyrant.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Anthony Trollope", "slug": "anthony-trollope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope" }, "book": { "title": "Phineas Redux", "slug": "phineas-redux", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "tyranny", "slug": "tyranny", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/tyranny" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Phineas_Redux#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:50" }, { "id": "309a5fa8-88a9-4caf-b5ca-b57c0e226bd9", "slug": "i-doubt-whether", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux/i-doubt-whether", "text": "I doubt whether patriotism can stand the wear and tear and temptation of the front benches in the House of Commons.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Anthony Trollope", "slug": "anthony-trollope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope" }, "book": { "title": "Phineas Redux", "slug": "phineas-redux", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "patriotism", "slug": "patriotism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/patriotism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Phineas_Redux#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:50" }, { "id": "f4665206-0e9a-467a-a55d-93d7057724b4", "slug": "most-of-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux/most-of-the", "text": "Most of the young men rise now by making themselves thoroughly disagreeable. Abuse a Minister every night for half a session, and you may be sure to be in office the other half, — if you care about it.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Anthony Trollope", "slug": "anthony-trollope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope" }, "book": { "title": "Phineas Redux", "slug": "phineas-redux", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Phineas_Redux#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:49" }, { "id": "ebf3000c-99dc-4259-bb52-201b56218183", "slug": "the-double-pleasure", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux/the-double-pleasure", "text": "The double pleasure of pulling down an opponent, and of raising oneself, is the charm of a politician’s life.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Anthony Trollope", "slug": "anthony-trollope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope" }, "book": { "title": "Phineas Redux", "slug": "phineas-redux", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Phineas_Redux#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:49" }, { "id": "b6b65a61-3386-4999-a72f-d81926e0ae20", "slug": "in-political-matters", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux/in-political-matters", "text": "In political matters it is very hard for a man in office to be purer than his neighbours, — and, when he is so, he becomes troublesome.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Anthony Trollope", "slug": "anthony-trollope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope" }, "book": { "title": "Phineas Redux", "slug": "phineas-redux", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "corruption", "slug": "corruption", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/corruption" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Phineas_Redux#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:49" }, { "id": "b4e9de7b-1d82-4cb1-b272-0b71b8a39fd3", "slug": "men-and-not", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux/men-and-not", "text": "Men and not measures are, no doubt, the very life of politics. But then it is not the fashion to say so in public places.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Anthony Trollope", "slug": "anthony-trollope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope" }, "book": { "title": "Phineas Redux", "slug": "phineas-redux", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Phineas_Redux#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:49" }, { "id": "9bbfe2f5-f888-4e35-815b-f5901c95dbb9", "slug": "a-minister-can", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux/a-minister-can", "text": "A Minister can always give a reason; and, if he be clever, he can generally when doing so punish the man who asks for it. The punishing of an influential enemy is an indiscretion; but an obscure questioner may often be crushed with good effect.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Anthony Trollope", "slug": "anthony-trollope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope" }, "book": { "title": "Phineas Redux", "slug": "phineas-redux", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Phineas_Redux#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:49" }, { "id": "5a88ff20-b6dc-4f65-b430-571a646753c3", "slug": "a-man-destined", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux/a-man-destined", "text": "A man destined to sit conspicuously on our Treasury Bench, or on the seat opposite to it, should ask the gods for a thick skin as a first gift. The need of this in our national assembly is greater than elsewhere, because the differences between men opposed to each other are smaller.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Anthony Trollope", "slug": "anthony-trollope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope" }, "book": { "title": "Phineas Redux", "slug": "phineas-redux", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Phineas_Redux#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:49" }, { "id": "a3fb8e50-9fd6-499f-9926-ad9fd7372e4c", "slug": "it-is-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux/it-is-the", "text": "It is the necessary nature of a political party in this country to avoid, as long as it can be avoided, the consideration of any question which involves a great change.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Anthony Trollope", "slug": "anthony-trollope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope" }, "book": { "title": "Phineas Redux", "slug": "phineas-redux", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "change", "slug": "change", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/change" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Phineas_Redux#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:48" }, { "id": "5ed156bf-9c10-4c51-9a11-6a0c518f01c3", "slug": "he-too-liked", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux/he-too-liked", "text": "He too, liked his party, and was fond of loyal men; but he had learned at last that all loyalty must be built on a basis of self-advantage. Patriotism may exist without it, but that which Erie called loyalty in politics was simply devotion to the side which a man conceives to be his side, and which he cannot leave without danger to himself.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Anthony Trollope", "slug": "anthony-trollope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope" }, "book": { "title": "Phineas Redux", "slug": "phineas-redux", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "loyalty", "slug": "loyalty", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/loyalty" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Phineas_Redux#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:48" }, { "id": "5e845ad8-c3d5-4c9a-afc0-0cf0cd25192d", "slug": "a-drunkard-or-a-gambler", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux/a-drunkard-or-a-gambler", "text": "A drunkard or a gambler may be weaned from his ways, but not a politician.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Anthony Trollope", "slug": "anthony-trollope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope" }, "book": { "title": "Phineas Redux", "slug": "phineas-redux", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Phineas_Redux#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:48" }, { "id": "2ac6317c-f5ca-43fa-86e8-a3078cd20a6d", "slug": "let-a-man", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux/let-a-man", "text": "Let a man be of what side he may in politics, — unless he be much more of a partisan than a patriot, — he will think it well that there should be some equity of division in the bestowal of crumbs of comfort.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Anthony Trollope", "slug": "anthony-trollope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope" }, "book": { "title": "Phineas Redux", "slug": "phineas-redux", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Phineas_Redux#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:48" }, { "id": "7ccce70a-3029-4c7f-9033-fc5ae7526577", "slug": "its-politics-sugarpeeps", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/pat-conroy/beach-music/its-politics-sugarpeeps", "text": "\"It's politics, sugarpeeps,\" I said. \"It makes everybody stupid. When you grow up, you'll know what I mean.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Pat Conroy", "slug": "pat-conroy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/pat-conroy" }, "book": { "title": "Beach Music", "slug": "beach-music", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/pat-conroy/beach-music" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 109, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "stupidity", "slug": "stupidity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/stupidity" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pat_Conroy#Beach_Music_(1995)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:33" }, { "id": "43737e29-092f-441d-8830-1d2d5cbcb808", "slug": "i-learned-that", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/pat-conroy/the-water-is-wide/i-learned-that", "text": "I learned that politicians are not supposed to help people. They simply listen to people, nod their heads painfully, commiserate at proper intervals, promise to do all they can, and then do nothing. It was very instructive. I could probably have enlisted more action from a bleached jellyfish washed ashore in a seasonal storm.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Pat Conroy", "slug": "pat-conroy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/pat-conroy" }, "book": { "title": "The Water Is Wide", "slug": "the-water-is-wide", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/pat-conroy/the-water-is-wide" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 278, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pat_Conroy#The_Water_is_Wide_(1972)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:33" }, { "id": "647f2b68-d8eb-4242-ab2b-ad377e4475ff", "slug": "senator-stanton-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/m-k-hobson/the-native-star/senator-stanton-the", "text": "Senator Stanton? The man who’s sold his own soul so many times that no one can figure out who actually owns it?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "M. K. Hobson", "slug": "m-k-hobson", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/m-k-hobson" }, "book": { "title": "The Native Star", "slug": "the-native-star", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/m-k-hobson/the-native-star" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 285, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "corruption", "slug": "corruption", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/corruption" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/M._K._Hobson#The_Native_Star_(2010)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:20" }, { "id": "a9c1fae0-6b00-4461-ba21-a7d123c75bc6", "slug": "i-was-stunned", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-finney/time-and-again/i-was-stunned", "text": "I was stunned. I was, and I knew it, an ordinary person who long after he was grown retained the childhood assumption that the people who largely control our lives are somehow better informed than, and have judgment superior to, the rest of us; that they are more intelligent. Not until Vietnam did I finally realize that some of the most important decision of all time can be made by men knowing really no more than, and who are not more intelligent than, most of the rest of us. That it was even possible that my own opinions and judgment could be as good as and maybe better than a politician’s who made a decision of profound consequence.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jack Finney", "slug": "jack-finney", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-finney" }, "book": { "title": "Time And Again", "slug": "time-and-again", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-finney/time-and-again" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 387, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jack_Finney#Time_and_Again_(1970)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:06" }, { "id": "86ae027e-9df9-42eb-8dc0-d7aa5a358df2", "slug": "government-doesnt-intrude", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-b-reich/saving-capitalism/government-doesnt-intrude", "text": "Government doesn’t \"intrude\" on the \"free market.\" It creates the market.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Robert B. Reich", "slug": "robert-b-reich", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-b-reich" }, "book": { "title": "Saving Capitalism", "slug": "saving-capitalism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-b-reich/saving-capitalism" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Reich#Saving_Capitalism:_For_the_Many,_Not_the_Few_(2015)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:47" }, { "id": "7f3ca280-50bb-46df-a2f5-bb76a7a13627", "slug": "those-who-argue", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-b-reich/saving-capitalism/those-who-argue", "text": "Those who argue for \"less government\" are really arguing for a different government—often one that favors them or their patrons.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Robert B. Reich", "slug": "robert-b-reich", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-b-reich" }, "book": { "title": "Saving Capitalism", "slug": "saving-capitalism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-b-reich/saving-capitalism" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Reich#Saving_Capitalism:_For_the_Many,_Not_the_Few_(2015)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:47" }, { "id": "2ebd2ea6-c838-4a41-b0a3-95cd7e73c540", "slug": "that-doesnt-make", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/on-the-steel-breeze/that-doesnt-make", "text": "“That doesn’t make the slightest bit of sense.” “Welcome to politics.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Alastair Reynolds", "slug": "alastair-reynolds", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds" }, "book": { "title": "On the Steel Breeze", "slug": "on-the-steel-breeze", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/on-the-steel-breeze" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 253, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds#On_the_Steel_Breeze_(2013)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:42" }, { "id": "9d241e26-4f40-4b49-ab21-5ac3dcd4b933", "slug": "welcome-to-politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/terminal-world/welcome-to-politics", "text": "Welcome to politics, Doctor. We don’t get to pick our allies. The best we can hope for is that we don’t despise them quite as much as our enemies.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Alastair Reynolds", "slug": "alastair-reynolds", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds" }, "book": { "title": "Terminal World", "slug": "terminal-world", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/terminal-world" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 417, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds#Terminal_World_(2010)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:41" }, { "id": "beeefc1a-1f4d-4f3e-abf8-62df9e8c05f5", "slug": "some-promises-are", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/pushing-ice/some-promises-are", "text": "Some promises are best broken. Trust me on this: I’m a politician.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Alastair Reynolds", "slug": "alastair-reynolds", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds" }, "book": { "title": "Pushing Ice", "slug": "pushing-ice", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/pushing-ice" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 475, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "promises", "slug": "promises", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/promises" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds#Pushing_Ice_(2005)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:40" }, { "id": "2f43ac01-e879-4324-b81a-4cbfe63e0a43", "slug": "i-dont-pretend", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gordon-r-dickson/dorsai/i-dont-pretend", "text": "“I don’t pretend to be anything but a soldier,” growled Galt. “And it’s precisely that that makes you dangerous in negotiations,” replied William. “Politicians and businessmen always feel more at home with someone who they know doesn’t mean what he says. Honest men always have been a curse laid upon the sharpshooter.” “A pity,” put in Anea, “that there aren’t enough honest men, then, to curse them all.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Gordon R. Dickson", "slug": "gordon-r-dickson", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gordon-r-dickson" }, "book": { "title": "Dorsai!", "slug": "dorsai", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gordon-r-dickson/dorsai" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 488, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "honesty", "slug": "honesty", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/honesty" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gordon_R._Dickson#Dorsai!_(1960)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:27" }, { "id": "1973d91e-819d-4cf4-9da2-d3e6c50c230b", "slug": "a-politics-of-struggle", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernie-sanders/outsider-in-the-white-house/a-politics-of-struggle", "text": "A politics of struggle is rooted in values and vision, and above all trust.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Bernie Sanders", "slug": "bernie-sanders", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernie-sanders" }, "book": { "title": "Outsider in the White House", "slug": "outsider-in-the-white-house", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernie-sanders/outsider-in-the-white-house" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "trust", "slug": "trust", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/trust" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bernie_Sanders#Preface_to_Outsider_in_the_White_House_(2015)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:59:37" }, { "id": "a9e66d5a-427f-4f8e-991a-49cb797c4c3b", "slug": "the-governments-hated", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/olaf-stapledon/last-and-first-men/the-governments-hated", "text": "The governments hated the peace party even more than each other, since their existence now depended on war.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Olaf Stapledon", "slug": "olaf-stapledon", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/olaf-stapledon" }, "book": { "title": "Last And First Men", "slug": "last-and-first-men", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/olaf-stapledon/last-and-first-men" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 50, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "war", "slug": "war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/war" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "peace", "slug": "peace", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/peace" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Olaf_Stapledon#Last_and_First_Men_(1930)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:59:16" }, { "id": "3b5dc6ae-df59-4c14-85d9-cb6962403f97", "slug": "no-government-will", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neamat-imam/the-black-coat/no-government-will", "text": "No government will ever surrender to the wishes of its people. No society will ever be free from the control of its government.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Neamat Imam", "slug": "neamat-imam", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neamat-imam" }, "book": { "title": "The Black Coat", "slug": "the-black-coat", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neamat-imam/the-black-coat" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "freedom", "slug": "freedom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/freedom" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Neamat_Imam#The_Black_Coat_(2013)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:59:15" }, { "id": "072bd0c4-1b4a-4601-9867-20d07774ffe7", "slug": "it-is-hard", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neamat-imam/the-black-coat/it-is-hard", "text": "It is hard for a faithful citizen to believe that his government does not care about him.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Neamat Imam", "slug": "neamat-imam", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neamat-imam" }, "book": { "title": "The Black Coat", "slug": "the-black-coat", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neamat-imam/the-black-coat" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Neamat_Imam#The_Black_Coat_(2013)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:59:15" }, { "id": "8fbb5a74-87be-4d53-a150-4e4cabb635aa", "slug": "if-money-is-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/naguib-mahfouz/midaq-alley/if-money-is-the", "text": "If money is the aim and object of those who squabble for power, then there is clearly no harm in money being the objective of the poor voters.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Naguib Mahfouz", "slug": "naguib-mahfouz", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/naguib-mahfouz" }, "book": { "title": "Midaq Alley", "slug": "midaq-alley", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/naguib-mahfouz/midaq-alley" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 151, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "money", "slug": "money", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/money" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Naguib_Mahfouz#Midaq_Alley_(1947)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:59:13" }, { "id": "f7721b62-3465-44a7-98ab-51bdd9058a3b", "slug": "i-am-tempted", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-rr-martin/a-feast-for-crows/i-am-tempted", "text": "I am tempted to say this is no game we play, daughter, but of course it is. The game of thrones.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George RR Martin", "slug": "george-rr-martin", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-rr-martin" }, "book": { "title": "A Feast for Crows", "slug": "a-feast-for-crows", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-rr-martin/a-feast-for-crows" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire#A_Feast_for_Crows_(2005)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:53" }, { "id": "f777d201-e47c-473e-bc68-53ac01f08bda", "slug": "it-is-not", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/chris-patten/east-and-west/it-is-not", "text": "It is not unusual for electorates to want contradictory things, and politicians often make promises accordingly.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Chris Patten", "slug": "chris-patten", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/chris-patten" }, "book": { "title": "East and West", "slug": "east-and-west", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/chris-patten/east-and-west" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 34, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Chris_Patten#East_and_West:_The_Last_Governor_of_Hong_Kong_on_Power,_Freedom_and_the_Future_(1998)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:40" }, { "id": "8a72c1d3-cd28-4860-b880-662cc9fba3c1", "slug": "little-wonder-that", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/elizabeth-may/losing-confidence/little-wonder-that", "text": "Little wonder that the dumbing down of the political discourse, the attack ads and war rooms reign triumphant. The fifth estate is an enabler in this addiction to political trivia in place of reasoned debate.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Elizabeth May", "slug": "elizabeth-may", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/elizabeth-may" }, "book": { "title": "Losing Confidence", "slug": "losing-confidence", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/elizabeth-may/losing-confidence" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "media", "slug": "media", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/media" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Elizabeth_May#Losing_Confidence_-_Power,_politics,_And_The_Crisis_In_Canadian_Democracy_(2009)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:40" }, { "id": "67b9d69a-6b84-49ce-ba43-322c07d0fd69", "slug": "how-vain-and", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/albert-memmi/the-pillar-of-salt/how-vain-and", "text": "How vain and futile are all theoretical and philosophical constructions of the mind when compared to the brutal realities of the world of men! The European philosophers build the most rigorous and virtuous moral codes, and their politicians, brought up by these teachers, foment murders as a means of government.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Albert Memmi", "slug": "albert-memmi", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/albert-memmi" }, "book": { "title": "The Pillar of Salt", "slug": "the-pillar-of-salt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/albert-memmi/the-pillar-of-salt" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "hypocrisy", "slug": "hypocrisy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hypocrisy" }, { "name": "philosophy", "slug": "philosophy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/philosophy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Memmi#The_Pillar_of_Salt_(1953)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:38" }, { "id": "39b41da9-61d4-4bdd-a8fe-b1fafb388f7a", "slug": "as-with-all", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-morrow/bible-stories-for-adults/as-with-all", "text": "As with all things political, the issue was power.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "James Morrow", "slug": "james-morrow", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-morrow" }, "book": { "title": "Bible Stories for Adults", "slug": "bible-stories-for-adults", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-morrow/bible-stories-for-adults" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 140, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_K._Morrow#Bible_Stories_for_Adults_(1996)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:26" }, { "id": "7e843878-f65e-4d78-af27-062b32928d65", "slug": "the-pinance-laughed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-gemmell/stormrider/the-pinance-laughed", "text": "The Pinance laughed. “I hate the man, but I have never before seen him as a fool or a coward.” “He is not a military man, my lord. He is a schemer, skilled in the art of politics and treachery.” “It seems to me that those two beasts are one and the same,” said the Pinance.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "David Gemmell", "slug": "david-gemmell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-gemmell" }, "book": { "title": "Stormrider", "slug": "stormrider", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-gemmell/stormrider" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "betrayal", "slug": "betrayal", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/betrayal" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Gemmell#Stormrider", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:52" }, { "id": "ec581065-4d91-4c57-89e2-1d1d6d7aaa4c", "slug": "theres-no-such", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-chretien/my-years-as-prime-minister/theres-no-such", "text": "There's no such thing as a genius in politics, or at least I have never met one. There are only human beings, some better than others, who rise or fall on the challenges they meet.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jean Chretien", "slug": "jean-chretien", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-chretien" }, "book": { "title": "My Years as Prime Minister", "slug": "my-years-as-prime-minister", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-chretien/my-years-as-prime-minister" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 211, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jean_Chr%C3%A9tien#My_Years_As_Prime_Minister_(2007)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:51" }, { "id": "c31e60a3-a0b2-437c-95e3-e7f187d1c542", "slug": "over-the-years", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-chretien/my-years-as-prime-minister/over-the-years", "text": "Over the years, I have seen too many politicians ruin their careers because they could not accept defeat graciously.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jean Chretien", "slug": "jean-chretien", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-chretien" }, "book": { "title": "My Years as Prime Minister", "slug": "my-years-as-prime-minister", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-chretien/my-years-as-prime-minister" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "success and failure", "slug": "success-and-failure", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/success-and-failure" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jean_Chr%C3%A9tien#My_Years_As_Prime_Minister_(2007)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:51" }, { "id": "c13bdf14-03b2-4d3e-bb7e-2b8c9874c049", "slug": "vision-is-not", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-chretien/my-years-as-prime-minister/vision-is-not", "text": "Vision is not political rhetoric.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jean Chretien", "slug": "jean-chretien", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-chretien" }, "book": { "title": "My Years as Prime Minister", "slug": "my-years-as-prime-minister", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-chretien/my-years-as-prime-minister" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 264, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jean_Chr%C3%A9tien#My_Years_As_Prime_Minister_(2007)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:51" }, { "id": "9d0b2376-d446-4ae2-8f14-298ce40b90ad", "slug": "to-be-frank", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-chretien/my-years-as-prime-minister/to-be-frank", "text": "To be frank, politics is about wanting power, getting it, exercising it, and keeping it.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jean Chretien", "slug": "jean-chretien", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-chretien" }, "book": { "title": "My Years as Prime Minister", "slug": "my-years-as-prime-minister", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-chretien/my-years-as-prime-minister" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 2, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jean_Chr%C3%A9tien#My_Years_As_Prime_Minister_(2007)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:51" }, { "id": "26387472-e5f8-4c75-bf5a-db2b9b769abe", "slug": "politicians-of-all", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-chretien/my-years-as-prime-minister/politicians-of-all", "text": "Politicians of all stripes are always in danger at looking at every problem from an abstract point of view or being briefed by officials, academics, or economists who know every science but the science of human nature.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jean Chretien", "slug": "jean-chretien", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-chretien" }, "book": { "title": "My Years as Prime Minister", "slug": "my-years-as-prime-minister", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-chretien/my-years-as-prime-minister" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 238, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "human nature", "slug": "human-nature", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/human-nature" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jean_Chr%C3%A9tien#My_Years_As_Prime_Minister_(2007)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:51" }, { "id": "8e798027-71ab-4c06-9c9c-b7e5c5146055", "slug": "well-aware-of-both", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lewis-lapham/waiting-for-the-barbarians/well-aware-of-both", "text": "Well aware of both the continuity and contingency of human affairs, Adams and Madison searched the works of Tacitus and Voltaire and Locke like carpenters rummaging through their assortment of tools, knowing that all the pediments were jury-rigged, all the provisional, all the alliances temporary.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Lewis Lapham", "slug": "lewis-lapham", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lewis-lapham" }, "book": { "title": "Waiting for the Barbarians", "slug": "waiting-for-the-barbarians", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lewis-lapham/waiting-for-the-barbarians" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 64, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "history", "slug": "history", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/history" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lewis_H._Lapham#Waiting_For_The_Barbarians_(1997)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:46" }, { "id": "e1f90297-8ef3-43de-a36d-0d2519f5f450", "slug": "politics-is-nothing", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/h-beam-piper/the-complete-paratime/politics-is-nothing", "text": "Politics is nothing but common action to secure more favorable living conditions.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "H. Beam Piper", "slug": "h-beam-piper", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/h-beam-piper" }, "book": { "title": "The Complete Paratime", "slug": "the-complete-paratime", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/h-beam-piper/the-complete-paratime" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 81, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._Beam_Piper#The_Complete_Paratime_(1947-1965)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:22" }, { "id": "31e37c8f-f2bf-4fe3-8bea-33949d9cdfef", "slug": "he-listened-to-a-series", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/h-beam-piper/the-complete-paratime/he-listened-to-a-series", "text": "He listened to a series of angry recriminations and contradictory statements by different politicians, all of whom blamed the disorders on their opponents. The Volitionalists spoke of the Statisticalists as “insane criminals” and “underminers of social stability,” and the Statisticalists called the Volitionalists “reactionary criminals” and “enemies of social progress.” Politicians, he had observed, differed little in their vocabularies from one time-line to another.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "H. Beam Piper", "slug": "h-beam-piper", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/h-beam-piper" }, "book": { "title": "The Complete Paratime", "slug": "the-complete-paratime", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/h-beam-piper/the-complete-paratime" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 86, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._Beam_Piper#The_Complete_Paratime_(1947-1965)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:22" }, { "id": "ad5e2f77-8b8c-467f-a2b9-cadb9365ddbe", "slug": "politics-is-ugly", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/paolo-bacigalupi/the-windup-girl/politics-is-ugly", "text": "Politics is ugly. Never doubt what small men will do for great power.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Paolo Bacigalupi", "slug": "paolo-bacigalupi", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/paolo-bacigalupi" }, "book": { "title": "The Windup Girl", "slug": "the-windup-girl", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/paolo-bacigalupi/the-windup-girl" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 280, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Paolo_Bacigalupi#The_Windup_Girl_(2009)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:16" }, { "id": "8b0e107d-13f7-48cb-8cec-9153c1ae2312", "slug": "my-definition-of-art", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ai-weiwei/ai-weiwei/my-definition-of-art", "text": "My definition of art has always been the same. It is about freedom of expression, a new way of communication. It is never about exhibiting in museums or about hanging it on the wall. Art should live in the heart of the people. Ordinary people should have the same ability to understand art as anybody else. I don’t think art is elite or mysterious. I don’t think anybody can separate art from politics. The intention to separate art from politics is itself a very political intention.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ai Weiwei", "slug": "ai-weiwei", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ai-weiwei" }, "book": { "title": "Ai Weiwei", "slug": "ai-weiwei", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ai-weiwei/ai-weiwei" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "art", "slug": "art", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/art" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ai_Weiwei#Ai_Weiwei:_%E2%80%98Shame_on_Me.%E2%80%99,_2011", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:06" }, { "id": "15f802bb-9a3d-4c5e-bacc-1328fca8af5c", "slug": "if-some-of-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt/cauldron/if-some-of-the", "text": "“If some of the current politicians had been around a few thousand years ago,” she’d said, “we never would have gotten out of Africa. Boats cost too much.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jack Mcdevitt", "slug": "jack-mcdevitt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt" }, "book": { "title": "Cauldron", "slug": "cauldron", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt/cauldron" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 46, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jack_McDevitt#Cauldron_(2007)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:59" }, { "id": "4a1f8c6e-0e4c-46d9-8222-56f9de595369", "slug": "talking-with-most", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt/odyssey/talking-with-most", "text": "Talking with most people usually involves a search for truth. Talking with congressmen is strictly special effects.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jack Mcdevitt", "slug": "jack-mcdevitt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt" }, "book": { "title": "Odyssey", "slug": "odyssey", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt/odyssey" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 85, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jack_McDevitt#Odyssey_(2006)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:58" }, { "id": "10eba56b-5fa9-4b7e-89f3-879b76da5d72", "slug": "the-idiots-always", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt/odyssey/the-idiots-always", "text": "The idiots always rose to the top and made policy. It explained a lot of things.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jack Mcdevitt", "slug": "jack-mcdevitt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt" }, "book": { "title": "Odyssey", "slug": "odyssey", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt/odyssey" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 200, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "stupidity", "slug": "stupidity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/stupidity" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jack_McDevitt#Odyssey_(2006)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:58" }, { "id": "07e690e8-e543-40bb-9fce-4b1d04f98f9a", "slug": "in-the-larger", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt/odyssey/in-the-larger", "text": "In the larger scale of things, his opinions didn’t count anyhow. The politicians made the decisions, and the voters paid no attention.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jack Mcdevitt", "slug": "jack-mcdevitt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt" }, "book": { "title": "Odyssey", "slug": "odyssey", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt/odyssey" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 31, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jack_McDevitt#Odyssey_(2006)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:58" }, { "id": "24eb4360-a417-4732-8e12-2b82e60f6aa4", "slug": "politicians-always-seemed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt/the-hercules-text/politicians-always-seemed", "text": "Politicians always seemed to be willing to sacrifice the general welfare to win votes.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jack Mcdevitt", "slug": "jack-mcdevitt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt" }, "book": { "title": "The Hercules Text", "slug": "the-hercules-text", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt/the-hercules-text" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 138, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jack_McDevitt#The_Hercules_Text_(1986)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:57" }, { "id": "3e992259-760c-4052-84ca-ce73d7905423", "slug": "governments-do-not", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/barbara-w-tuchman/a-distant-mirror/governments-do-not", "text": "Governments do not like to face radical remedies; it is easier to let politics predominate.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Barbara W. Tuchman", "slug": "barbara-w-tuchman", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/barbara-w-tuchman" }, "book": { "title": "A Distant Mirror", "slug": "a-distant-mirror", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/barbara-w-tuchman/a-distant-mirror" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 523, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Barbara_Tuchman#A_Distant_Mirror_(1978)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:53" }, { "id": "0ee55299-ab93-42d1-8477-eaf3c5c37d2e", "slug": "his-deschamps-complaint", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/barbara-w-tuchman/a-distant-mirror/his-deschamps-complaint", "text": "His (Deschamps’) complaint of court life was the same as is made of government at the top in any age: it was composed of hypocrisy, flattery, lying, paying and betraying; it was where calumny and cupidity reigned, common sense lacked, truth dared not appear, and where to survive one had to be deaf, blind, and dumb.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Barbara W. Tuchman", "slug": "barbara-w-tuchman", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/barbara-w-tuchman" }, "book": { "title": "A Distant Mirror", "slug": "a-distant-mirror", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/barbara-w-tuchman/a-distant-mirror" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 450, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "hypocrisy", "slug": "hypocrisy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hypocrisy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Barbara_Tuchman#A_Distant_Mirror_(1978)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:53" }, { "id": "c66336b3-3639-4206-9372-24d553da952d", "slug": "his-sincerity-was", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brandon-sanderson/oathbringer/his-sincerity-was", "text": "His sincerity was so unexpected. Dalinar had been around Alethi politicians so much that he found honesty an obscure thing, like a language he no longer spoke.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Brandon Sanderson", "slug": "brandon-sanderson", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brandon-sanderson" }, "book": { "title": "Oathbringer", "slug": "oathbringer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brandon-sanderson/oathbringer" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 242, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "honesty", "slug": "honesty", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/honesty" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Brandon_Sanderson#Oathbringer_(2017)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:38" }, { "id": "0611c225-aeeb-4f8a-a513-07dff7cbc299", "slug": "politics-is-involved", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brandon-sanderson/oathbringer/politics-is-involved", "text": "Politics is involved, Adolin—so by definition it can’t be easy.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Brandon Sanderson", "slug": "brandon-sanderson", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brandon-sanderson" }, "book": { "title": "Oathbringer", "slug": "oathbringer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brandon-sanderson/oathbringer" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 234, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Brandon_Sanderson#Oathbringer_(2017)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:38" }, { "id": "965e8e03-01a6-4b73-a7c0-e0cae8f77c2a", "slug": "you-have-to-expect", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brandon-sanderson/elantris/you-have-to-expect", "text": "You have to expect a measure of subterfuge in any political engagement.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Brandon Sanderson", "slug": "brandon-sanderson", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brandon-sanderson" }, "book": { "title": "Elantris", "slug": "elantris", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brandon-sanderson/elantris" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 331, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Brandon_Sanderson#Elantris_(2005)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:33" }, { "id": "b0bde741-f9fd-4943-9f9f-e82af1dce395", "slug": "one-good-man", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville/the-fable-of-the-bees/one-good-man", "text": "One good Man may take another's Word, if they so agree, but a whole Nation ought never to trust to any Honesty, but what is built upon Necessity; for unhappy is the People, and their Constitution will be ever precarious, whose Welfare must depend upon the Virtues and Consciences of Ministers and Politicians.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Bernard Mandeville", "slug": "bernard-mandeville", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville" }, "book": { "title": "The Fable of the Bees", "slug": "the-fable-of-the-bees", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville/the-fable-of-the-bees" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 207, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "trust", "slug": "trust", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/trust" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bernard_Mandeville#The_Fable_of_the_Bees_(1714)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:27" }, { "id": "8ef93bf3-b3bd-4353-9282-33416936d5a0", "slug": "private-vices-by-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville/the-fable-of-the-bees/private-vices-by-the", "text": "Private Vices by the dextrous Management of a skilful Politician may be turned into Publick Benefits.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Bernard Mandeville", "slug": "bernard-mandeville", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville" }, "book": { "title": "The Fable of the Bees", "slug": "the-fable-of-the-bees", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville/the-fable-of-the-bees" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 428, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "flaws", "slug": "flaws", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/flaws" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bernard_Mandeville#The_Fable_of_the_Bees_(1714)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:27" }, { "id": "5f57c004-3fca-4f1c-9774-6bfd373f513a", "slug": "the-first-rudiments", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville/the-fable-of-the-bees/the-first-rudiments", "text": "The first Rudiments of Morality, broach'd by skilful Politicians, to render Men useful to each other as well as tractable, were chiefly contrived that the Ambitious might reap the more Benefit from, and govern vast Numbers of them with the greater Ease and Security.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Bernard Mandeville", "slug": "bernard-mandeville", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville" }, "book": { "title": "The Fable of the Bees", "slug": "the-fable-of-the-bees", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville/the-fable-of-the-bees" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 33, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "morality", "slug": "morality", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/morality" }, { "name": "manipulation", "slug": "manipulation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/manipulation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bernard_Mandeville#The_Fable_of_the_Bees_(1714)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:27" }, { "id": "490b4e4f-bc51-4d84-8a80-5050bd472984", "slug": "it-is-visible", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville/the-fable-of-the-bees/it-is-visible", "text": "It is visible then that it was not any Heathen Religion or other Idolatrous Superstition, that first put Man upon crossing his Appetites and subduing his dearest Inclinations, but the skilful Management of wary Politicians; and the nearer we search into human Nature, the more we shall be convinced, that the Moral Virtues are the Political Offspring which Flattery begot upon Pride.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Bernard Mandeville", "slug": "bernard-mandeville", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville" }, "book": { "title": "The Fable of the Bees", "slug": "the-fable-of-the-bees", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville/the-fable-of-the-bees" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 37, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "morality", "slug": "morality", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/morality" }, { "name": "pride", "slug": "pride", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pride" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bernard_Mandeville#The_Fable_of_the_Bees_(1714)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:27" }, { "id": "fa4a8433-e7d1-4c49-b78e-4ee3cf5c35ba", "slug": "valuing-family-more", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-danforth/faith-and-politics/valuing-family-more", "text": "Valuing family more than job gives perspectives to politics. It puts the politician in the proper place, which is somewhere less than being the self-perceived agent of God. If family comes first, the politician needs to find ways to make that clear- by words, symbols and actions. The politician must make the effort. By its nature, the job will not do it for him.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Danforth", "slug": "john-danforth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-danforth" }, "book": { "title": "Faith and Politics", "slug": "faith-and-politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-danforth/faith-and-politics" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 125, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "work", "slug": "work", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/work" }, { "name": "family", "slug": "family", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/family" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Danforth#Faith_and_Politics_(2006)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:22" }, { "id": "d68dc53f-a873-4e12-9aeb-451762fd5682", "slug": "the-senate-is-indeed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-danforth/faith-and-politics/the-senate-is-indeed", "text": "The Senate is indeed a deliberative body, and that quality serves the nation well. A slow-moving government helps us maintain a stable government. But slow moving is not the same as immobile.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Danforth", "slug": "john-danforth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-danforth" }, "book": { "title": "Faith and Politics", "slug": "faith-and-politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-danforth/faith-and-politics" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 154, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Danforth#Faith_and_Politics_(2006)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:22" }, { "id": "98618029-d350-448f-83db-880c7eb8ba66", "slug": "the-relationship-of-faith", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-danforth/faith-and-politics/the-relationship-of-faith", "text": "The relationship of faith and politics is not about fashioning religious beliefs into political platforms. It is, instead, the way in which faithful people go about the work of politics. If it were the former, family values could be reduced to legislation, but despite the efforts of Christian conservatives, that is not possible. Family values concern how a person, in my case a political person, values his family, his wife and his children. Is the family, especially the spouse, first on the list of priorities, or is it somewhere down the line?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Danforth", "slug": "john-danforth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-danforth" }, "book": { "title": "Faith and Politics", "slug": "faith-and-politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-danforth/faith-and-politics" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 124, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "family", "slug": "family", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/family" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Danforth#Faith_and_Politics_(2006)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:22" }, { "id": "825a9596-adeb-45f8-9d68-8429b3c2bb3c", "slug": "many-if-not", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-danforth/faith-and-politics/many-if-not", "text": "Many, if not most, Americans can imagine a fate worse than death, and it is a seemingly interminable process of dying. For them, it is frightening that politicians can find ways to interject themselves into this sad process.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Danforth", "slug": "john-danforth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-danforth" }, "book": { "title": "Faith and Politics", "slug": "faith-and-politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-danforth/faith-and-politics" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 72, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "death", "slug": "death", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/death" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Danforth#Faith_and_Politics_(2006)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:22" }, { "id": "2b0dfc97-49ee-4d69-af0d-051a4d009384", "slug": "when-we-vest", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-danforth/faith-and-politics/when-we-vest", "text": "When we vest our personal opinions with the trappings of religion, we make religion the servant of our politics.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Danforth", "slug": "john-danforth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-danforth" }, "book": { "title": "Faith and Politics", "slug": "faith-and-politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-danforth/faith-and-politics" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 213, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "religion", "slug": "religion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/religion" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Danforth#Faith_and_Politics_(2006)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:22" }, { "id": "29d9d172-cdf2-4357-a906-12ffc5787629", "slug": "the-old-adage", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-danforth/faith-and-politics/the-old-adage", "text": "The old adage that polite conversation should not include talk of politics or religion is understandable because both subjects are so heavily laden with emotion that discussion can quickly turn to shouting. Blood is shed over politics, religion and the two in combination.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Danforth", "slug": "john-danforth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-danforth" }, "book": { "title": "Faith and Politics", "slug": "faith-and-politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-danforth/faith-and-politics" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 215, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "religion", "slug": "religion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/religion" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "conversation", "slug": "conversation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/conversation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Danforth#Faith_and_Politics_(2006)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:22" }, { "id": "07081163-1b3d-4370-a60c-838c5fb273f2", "slug": "whether-religion-is-a-divisive", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-danforth/faith-and-politics/whether-religion-is-a-divisive", "text": "Whether religion is a divisive or reconciling force depends on our certainty or our humility as we practice our faith in our politics. If we believe that we know God's truth and that we can embody that truth in a political agenda, we divide the realm of politics into those who are on God's side, which is our side, and those with whom we disagree, who oppose the side of God. This is neither good religion nor good politics. It is not consistent with following a Lord who reached out to a variety of people — prostitutes, tax collectors, lepers. If politics is the art of compromise, certainty is not really politics, for how can one compromise with God's own truth? Reconciliation depends on acknowledging that God's truth is greater than our own, that we cannot reduce it to any political platform we create, no matter how committed we are to that platform, and that God's truth is large enough to accommodate the opinions of all kinds of people, even those with whom we strongly disagree.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Danforth", "slug": "john-danforth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-danforth" }, "book": { "title": "Faith and Politics", "slug": "faith-and-politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-danforth/faith-and-politics" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 16, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "religion", "slug": "religion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/religion" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "humility", "slug": "humility", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humility" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Danforth#Faith_and_Politics_(2006)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:22" }, { "id": "840fe92c-2474-4e03-b3df-cd3f60cc4069", "slug": "well-intentioned-men-dont", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-brunner/the-jagged-orbit/well-intentioned-men-dont", "text": "Well-intentioned men don’t run for office any more! They have too much sense to expose themselves to assassination, and only delusible idiots like our current chief executive can be persuaded to don the robes of high office. Nice guys don’t crave power.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Brunner", "slug": "john-brunner", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-brunner" }, "book": { "title": "The Jagged Orbit", "slug": "the-jagged-orbit", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-brunner/the-jagged-orbit" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 143, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Brunner#The_Jagged_Orbit_(1969)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:10" }, { "id": "d713b824-2eb7-4d68-83c8-2f47bc667197", "slug": "in-an-individual", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-brunner/stand-on-zanzibar/in-an-individual", "text": "In an individual one would regard it as evidence of insanity to see someone repeatedly undertaking enterprises that resulted in his losing precisely what he claimed he was trying to achieve; it is not less lunatic to do it on the international scale, but if you’ve been catching the news lately you’ll have noticed it’s being done more than ever.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Brunner", "slug": "john-brunner", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-brunner" }, "book": { "title": "Stand On Zanzibar", "slug": "stand-on-zanzibar", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-brunner/stand-on-zanzibar" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "madness", "slug": "madness", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/madness" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Brunner#Stand_on_Zanzibar_(1968)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:09" }, { "id": "182d44e0-b0d1-4f30-a37f-445e3e099cf1", "slug": "governments-dont-change", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-brunner/stand-on-zanzibar/governments-dont-change", "text": "“Governments don’t change things,” she said. “Only time does that.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Brunner", "slug": "john-brunner", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-brunner" }, "book": { "title": "Stand On Zanzibar", "slug": "stand-on-zanzibar", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-brunner/stand-on-zanzibar" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "change", "slug": "change", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/change" }, { "name": "time", "slug": "time", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/time" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Brunner#Stand_on_Zanzibar_(1968)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:09" }, { "id": "e7ec0a2a-a4f5-410d-b967-cd8238b5bea8", "slug": "if-i-ever", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-brunner/quicksand/if-i-ever", "text": "—If I ever get good at hospital politics, I think I shall start to hate myself.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Brunner", "slug": "john-brunner", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-brunner" }, "book": { "title": "Quicksand", "slug": "quicksand", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-brunner/quicksand" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 70, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "work", "slug": "work", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/work" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Brunner#Quicksand_(1967)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:08" }, { "id": "85a7cd5b-4998-4fb4-a8d9-a7b4dd83c148", "slug": "the-great-man", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/aravind-adiga/the-white-tiger/the-great-man", "text": "The great man folded his palms and bowed all around him. He had one of those either/or faces that all great Indian politicians have. This face says that it is now at peace—and you can be at peace too if you follow the owner of that face. But the same face can also say, with a little twitch of its features, that it has known the opposite of peace and it can make this other face yours too, if it wishes.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Aravind Adiga", "slug": "aravind-adiga", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/aravind-adiga" }, "book": { "title": "The White Tiger", "slug": "the-white-tiger", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/aravind-adiga/the-white-tiger" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "manipulation", "slug": "manipulation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/manipulation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aravind_Adiga#The_White_Tiger_(2008)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:06" }, { "id": "4529bd96-7cd7-4ce1-b183-9abf330d1f20", "slug": "more-historys-made", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-barth/the-sot-weed-factor/more-historys-made", "text": "More history's made by secret handshakes than by battles, bills, and proclamations.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Barth", "slug": "john-barth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-barth" }, "book": { "title": "The Sot-Weed Factor", "slug": "the-sot-weed-factor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-barth/the-sot-weed-factor" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "history", "slug": "history", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/history" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Barth#The_Sot-Weed_Factor_(1960)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:04" }, { "id": "a76e593c-fd27-4f5a-9a05-aced0985539d", "slug": "the-point-in-all", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/chinua-achebe/the-education-of-a-british-protected-child/the-point-in-all", "text": "The point in all this is that language is a handy whipping boy to summon and belabor when we have failed in some serious way. In other words, we play politics with language, and in so doing conceal the reality and the complexity of our situation from ourselves and from those foolish enough to put their trust in us.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Chinua Achebe", "slug": "chinua-achebe", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/chinua-achebe" }, "book": { "title": "The Education of a British-Protected Child", "slug": "the-education-of-a-british-protected-child", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/chinua-achebe/the-education-of-a-british-protected-child" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "language", "slug": "language", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/language" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Chinua_Achebe#The_Education_of_a_British-Protected_Child_(2009)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:55:57" }, { "id": "56f28879-27ed-4653-9ac9-b45445537d0b", "slug": "those-who-mismanage", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/chinua-achebe/anthills-of-the-savannah/those-who-mismanage", "text": "Those who mismanage our affairs would silence our criticism by pretending they have facts not available to the rest of us. Our best weapon against them is not to marshal facts, of which they are truly managers, but passion. Passion is our hope and strength.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Chinua Achebe", "slug": "chinua-achebe", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/chinua-achebe" }, "book": { "title": "Anthills of the Savannah", "slug": "anthills-of-the-savannah", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/chinua-achebe/anthills-of-the-savannah" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "passion", "slug": "passion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/passion" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Chinua_Achebe#Anthills_of_the_Savannah_(1987)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:55:56" }, { "id": "22e49b6b-cc17-4c55-a0b1-2c20a6e57437", "slug": "thats-all-they", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/chinua-achebe/a-man-of-the-people/thats-all-they", "text": "That’s all they cared for,’ [Max] said with a solemn face. ‘Women, cars, landed property. But what else can you expect when intelligent people leave politics to illiterates like Chief Nanga?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Chinua Achebe", "slug": "chinua-achebe", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/chinua-achebe" }, "book": { "title": "A Man of the People", "slug": "a-man-of-the-people", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/chinua-achebe/a-man-of-the-people" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 73, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Chinua_Achebe#Man_of_the_People_(1966)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:55:55" }, { "id": "788413fb-d0de-4684-a54b-74e71dccc22f", "slug": "if-a-government", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/donella-h-meadows/thinking-in-systems/if-a-government", "text": "If a government proclaims its interest in protecting the environment but allocates little money or efforts toward that goal, environmental protection is not, in fact, the government's purpose. Purposes are deduced from behaviour, not from rhetoric or stated goals.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Donella H. Meadows", "slug": "donella-h-meadows", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/donella-h-meadows" }, "book": { "title": "Thinking in Systems", "slug": "thinking-in-systems", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/donella-h-meadows/thinking-in-systems" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 14, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "hypocrisy", "slug": "hypocrisy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hypocrisy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Donella_Meadows#Thinking_in_Systems:_A_Primer_(2008)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:55:49" }, { "id": "09bffdea-2792-4b87-93b0-5486380f83d5", "slug": "i-smiled-remembering", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-crichton/a-case-of-need/i-smiled-remembering", "text": "I smiled, remembering Art's line about doctors being illpolitical. He meant it the way you used words like illiterate. Art always said doctors not only held no political views, but also were incapable of them. \"It's like the military,\" he had once said. \"Political views are considered unprofessional.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Michael Crichton", "slug": "michael-crichton", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-crichton" }, "book": { "title": "A Case Of Need", "slug": "a-case-of-need", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-crichton/a-case-of-need" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "doctors", "slug": "doctors", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doctors" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michael_Crichton#A_Case_of_Need_(1968)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": 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{ "name": "Gregory Benford", "slug": "gregory-benford", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-benford" }, "book": { "title": "Timescape", "slug": "timescape", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-benford/timescape" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 46, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gregory_Benford#Timescape_(1980)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:55:21" }, { "id": "2f224101-4a73-472a-8ed2-fff4e346a8e2", "slug": "it-had-long", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ken-macleod/learning-the-world/it-had-long", "text": "It had long been established in the Civil Worlds that public business was to be transparent, and personal business opaque; but it was as well recognised that the two would always have a turbulent interface, and that the clique, the caucus, and the conspiracy were as ineradicable features of civility as the council or the committee.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ken MacLeod", "slug": "ken-macleod", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ken-macleod" }, "book": { "title": "Learning The World", "slug": "learning-the-world", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ken-macleod/learning-the-world" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 136, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ken_MacLeod#Learning_the_World_(2005)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": 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"Lionel Trilling", "slug": "lionel-trilling", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lionel-trilling" }, "book": { "title": "The Liberal Imagination", "slug": "the-liberal-imagination", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lionel-trilling/the-liberal-imagination" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "imagination", "slug": "imagination", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/imagination" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lionel_Trilling#The_Liberal_Imagination_(1950)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:54:29" }, { "id": "6120d749-a488-444c-a216-ab6c88055d00", "slug": "the-only-force", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-david-roberts/shantaram/the-only-force", "text": "The only force more ruthless and cynical than the business of big politics is the politics of big business.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Gregory David Roberts", "slug": "gregory-david-roberts", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-david-roberts" }, "book": { "title": "Shantaram", "slug": "shantaram", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-david-roberts/shantaram" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Shantaram#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" 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"book": { "title": "Enquiry Concerning Political Justice", "slug": "enquiry-concerning-political-justice", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/william-godwin/enquiry-concerning-political-justice" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Godwin#Enquiry_Concerning_Political_Justice_(1793)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:54:09" }, { "id": "5a26353a-dae5-42da-bdad-c612dc4ff768", "slug": "politics-is-shit", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-stross/saturns-children/politics-is-shit", "text": "Politics is shit; it corrupts everything it touches, and getting involved in it only leads to misery and dissatisfaction.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Charles Stross", "slug": "charles-stross", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-stross" }, "book": { "title": "Saturn's Children", "slug": "saturns-children", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-stross/saturns-children" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 157, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "corruption", "slug": "corruption", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/corruption" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Stross#Saturn's_Children_(2008)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:54:07" }, { "id": "3c62c26c-a30a-4a0f-9054-4e597ce47bbd", "slug": "in-my-opinion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/a-j-p-taylor/the-origins-of-the-second-world-war/in-my-opinion", "text": "In my opinion, statesmen are too absorbed by events to follow a preconceived plan. They take one step, and the next follows from it. The systems are created by historians, as happened with Napoleon; and the systems attributed to Hitler are really those of Hugh Trevor-Roper, Elizabeth Wiskemann, and Alan Bullock.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "A J P Taylor", "slug": "a-j-p-taylor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/a-j-p-taylor" }, "book": { "title": "The Origins of the Second World War", "slug": "the-origins-of-the-second-world-war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/a-j-p-taylor/the-origins-of-the-second-world-war" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 98, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "history", "slug": "history", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/history" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A._J._P._Taylor#The_Origins_of_the_Second_World_War_(1961)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:54:04" }, { "id": "c3d44a15-181b-47fd-9d13-14f95d667c8f", "slug": "the-commonsense-partys", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jasper-fforde/first-among-sequels/the-commonsense-partys", "text": "The Commonsense Party’s first major policy reversal of perceived current wisdom was with the scrapping of performance targets, league standings and the attempt to make subtle human problems into figures on a graph that could be solved quickly and easily through “initiatives.” Arguing that important bodies such as the Health Service should have the emphasis on care and not on administration, the Commonsense party forced through legislation that essentially argued, “If it takes us ten years to get into the shit, it will take us twenty years to get out—and that journey starts now.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jasper Fforde", "slug": "jasper-fforde", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jasper-fforde" }, "book": { "title": "First Among Sequels", "slug": "first-among-sequels", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jasper-fforde/first-among-sequels" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 268, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "health", "slug": "health", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/health" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jasper_Fforde#First_Among_Sequels_(2007)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:54:01" }, { "id": "3136df36-09b4-48c8-80fd-f93658bb98d0", "slug": "youll-forgive-me-for", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jasper-fforde/first-among-sequels/youll-forgive-me-for", "text": "“You’ll forgive me for saying this,” said Webastow, looking over his glasses, “but this is the most harebrained piece of unadulterated stupidity that any government has ever undertaken anywhere.” “Thank you very much,” replied Ms. Yogert courteously. “I’ll make sure your compliments are forwarded to Prime Minister van de Post.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jasper Fforde", "slug": "jasper-fforde", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jasper-fforde" }, "book": { "title": "First Among Sequels", "slug": "first-among-sequels", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jasper-fforde/first-among-sequels" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 274, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "stupidity", "slug": "stupidity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/stupidity" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jasper_Fforde#First_Among_Sequels_(2007)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:54:01" }, { "id": "9d39bd04-ba63-4c0b-9ad9-fff200e3e6e4", "slug": "the-dangerously-high", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jasper-fforde/first-among-sequels/the-dangerously-high", "text": "The dangerously high level of the stupidity surplus was once again the lead story in the The Owl that Morning. The reason for the crisis was clear: Prime Minister Redmond van de Poste and his ruling Commonsense Party had been discharging their duties with a reckless degree of responsibility that bordered on inspired sagacity. Instead of drifting from one crisis to the next and appeasing the nation with a steady stream of knee-jerk legislation and headline-grabbing but arguably pointless initiatives, they had been resolutely building a raft of considered long-term plans that concentrated on unity, fairness and tolerance. It was a state of affairs deplored by Mr. Alfredo Traficcone, leader of the opposition Prevailing Wind Party, who wanted to lead the nation back onto the safer grounds of uninformed stupidity.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jasper Fforde", "slug": "jasper-fforde", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jasper-fforde" }, "book": { "title": "First Among Sequels", "slug": "first-among-sequels", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jasper-fforde/first-among-sequels" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 1, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "stupidity", "slug": "stupidity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/stupidity" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jasper_Fforde#First_Among_Sequels_(2007)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:54:00" }, { "id": "262c40c7-c114-4338-8597-feb4bf311c98", "slug": "good-evening-and", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jasper-fforde/something-rotten/good-evening-and", "text": "Good evening and welcome to Evade the Question Time, the nation’s premier topical talk show. Tonight, as every night, a panel of distinguished public figures generally evade answering the audience’s questions and instead toe the party line.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jasper Fforde", "slug": "jasper-fforde", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jasper-fforde" }, "book": { "title": "Something Rotten", "slug": "something-rotten", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jasper-fforde/something-rotten" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 47, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jasper_Fforde#Something_Rotten_(2004)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:54:00" }, { "id": "06ed468f-7b89-4be5-b514-439865232075", "slug": "the-stupidity-surplus", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jasper-fforde/first-among-sequels/the-stupidity-surplus", "text": "“The stupidity surplus,” repeated Landen as he sat down at the kitchen table, “I’m all for responsible government, but storing it up like this is bound to cause problems sooner or later—even by acting sensibly, the government has shown itself to be a bunch of idiots.” “There are a lot of idiots in this country,” I replied absently, “and they deserve representation as much as the next man.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jasper Fforde", "slug": "jasper-fforde", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jasper-fforde" }, "book": { "title": "First Among Sequels", "slug": "first-among-sequels", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jasper-fforde/first-among-sequels" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 2, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "stupidity", "slug": "stupidity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/stupidity" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jasper_Fforde#First_Among_Sequels_(2007)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:54:00" }, { "id": "65070354-c763-40e8-bb2a-0cef6e5faa5f", "slug": "a-man-in-public", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dickens/nicholas-nickleby/a-man-in-public", "text": "A man in public life expects to be sneered at—it is the fault of his elevated sitiwation, and not of himself.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Charles Dickens", "slug": "charles-dickens", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dickens" }, "book": { "title": "Nicholas Nickleby", "slug": "nicholas-nickleby", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dickens/nicholas-nickleby" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "criticism", "slug": "criticism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/criticism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nicholas_Nickleby#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:42" }, { "id": "72923c7e-dce8-47eb-8f6d-e4d542ff1acb", "slug": "whenever-the-buffs", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dickens/the-pickwick-papers/whenever-the-buffs", "text": "Whenever the Buffs and Blues met together at public meeting ... disputes and high words arose between them... Everything in Eatanswill was made a party question. If the Buffs proposed to new skylight the market-place, the Blues got up public meetings, and denounced the proceeding; if the Blues proposed the erection of an additional pump in the High Street, the Buffs rose as one man and stood aghast at the enormity.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Charles Dickens", "slug": "charles-dickens", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dickens" }, "book": { "title": "The Pickwick Papers", "slug": "the-pickwick-papers", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dickens/the-pickwick-papers" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Pickwick_Papers#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:41" }, { "id": "bc2b8c54-7362-4253-b8c2-4b884c7c06b2", "slug": "fear-is-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/molly-ivins/nothin-but-good-times-ahead/fear-is-the", "text": "Fear is the most dangerous emotion in politics. People do terrible things to one another out of fear. In my opinion, anyone who can look at the raunchier frontiers of American culture without at least some trepidation hasn't got a lick of sense. But we are now looking at a form of fundamentalism in which fear is being deliberately fanned for political purposes. The boogeymen are everywhere: Sex education will lead to promiscuity, AIDS, and Chinese communism. Failure to discriminate against gay people will lead to Sodom and Gomorrah. Failure to have official prayers in school means the End Is Nigh. I have no claim to expertise on eternal rewards and punishments. But personally, I suspect there is a special place in hell for the fear-mongers.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Molly Ivins", "slug": "molly-ivins", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/molly-ivins" }, "book": { "title": "Nothin' But Good Times Ahead", "slug": "nothin-but-good-times-ahead", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/molly-ivins/nothin-but-good-times-ahead" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "fear", "slug": "fear", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/fear" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Molly_Ivins#Nothin'_but_Good_Times_Ahead_(1993)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:34" }, { "id": "6645cf77-31c1-4ceb-93ee-0b36bc8c97e5", "slug": "how-the-american", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/molly-ivins/you-got-to-dance-with-them-what-brung-you/how-the-american", "text": "How the American right managed to convince itself that the programs to alleviate poverty are responsible for the consequences of poverty will someday be studied as a notorious mass illusion. (\"Look to the Children of the Poor in This Season of Budget-Slashing\", 1995)", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Molly Ivins", "slug": "molly-ivins", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/molly-ivins" }, "book": { "title": "You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You", "slug": "you-got-to-dance-with-them-what-brung-you", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/molly-ivins/you-got-to-dance-with-them-what-brung-you" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "poverty", "slug": "poverty", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/poverty" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Molly_Ivins#You_Got_to_Dance_with_Them_What_Brung_You_(1998)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:34" }, { "id": "5e60992f-5f54-4bf3-b3f2-c5764c29e20f", "slug": "when-politicians-start", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/molly-ivins/you-got-to-dance-with-them-what-brung-you/when-politicians-start", "text": "When politicians start talking about large groups of their fellow Americans as 'enemies,' it's time for a quiet stir of alertness. Polarizing people is a good way to win an election, and also a good way to wreck a country. (\"Stand by, America! Newt Alert!\", 1994)", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Molly Ivins", "slug": "molly-ivins", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/molly-ivins" }, "book": { "title": "You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You", "slug": "you-got-to-dance-with-them-what-brung-you", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/molly-ivins/you-got-to-dance-with-them-what-brung-you" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "enemies", "slug": "enemies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/enemies" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Molly_Ivins#You_Got_to_Dance_with_Them_What_Brung_You_(1998)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:34" }, { "id": "0e822b88-bad6-42a9-b797-e515062d108b", "slug": "listen-to-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/molly-ivins/you-got-to-dance-with-them-what-brung-you/listen-to-the", "text": "Listen to the people who are talking about how to fix what's wrong, not the ones who just work people into a snit over the problems. Listen to the people who have ideas about how to fix things, not the ones who just blame others. (\"We're Talking About This Kind of People...\" 1995)", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Molly Ivins", "slug": "molly-ivins", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/molly-ivins" }, "book": { "title": "You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You", "slug": "you-got-to-dance-with-them-what-brung-you", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/molly-ivins/you-got-to-dance-with-them-what-brung-you" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "criticism", "slug": "criticism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/criticism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Molly_Ivins#You_Got_to_Dance_with_Them_What_Brung_You_(1998)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:34" }, { "id": "dad0a3f8-137b-4664-aeae-9e076311e7e4", "slug": "actors-didnt-have", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/philip-jose-farmer/the-fabulous-riverboat/actors-didnt-have", "text": "Actors didn’t have to be politicians, but politicians had to be actors.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Philip José Farmer", "slug": "philip-jose-farmer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/philip-jose-farmer" }, "book": { "title": "The Fabulous Riverboat", "slug": "the-fabulous-riverboat", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/philip-jose-farmer/the-fabulous-riverboat" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 135, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "appearances", "slug": "appearances", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/appearances" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Philip_Jos%C3%A9_Farmer#The_Fabulous_Riverboat_(1971)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:30" }, { "id": "ccaabce3-fbcd-4352-90d6-5b5970e9435e", "slug": "its-a-nice", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/philip-jose-farmer/the-fabulous-riverboat/its-a-nice", "text": "“It’s a nice toy and makes a lot of noise and looks impressive and will kill a man. But it’s wasteful and inefficient.” “You make it sound like a congressman,” Sam said.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Philip José Farmer", "slug": "philip-jose-farmer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/philip-jose-farmer" }, "book": { "title": "The Fabulous Riverboat", "slug": "the-fabulous-riverboat", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/philip-jose-farmer/the-fabulous-riverboat" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 109, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Philip_Jos%C3%A9_Farmer#The_Fabulous_Riverboat_(1971)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:30" }, { "id": "a4cf87d5-123e-4c15-b9f8-4e9db8bde110", "slug": "resurrection-like-politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/philip-jose-farmer/the-fabulous-riverboat/resurrection-like-politics", "text": "Resurrection, like politics, makes strange bedfellows.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Philip José Farmer", "slug": "philip-jose-farmer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/philip-jose-farmer" }, "book": { "title": "The Fabulous Riverboat", "slug": "the-fabulous-riverboat", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/philip-jose-farmer/the-fabulous-riverboat" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 1, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Philip_Jos%C3%A9_Farmer#The_Fabulous_Riverboat_(1971)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:30" }, { "id": "21c56775-3224-4a5e-b066-c5f82b242994", "slug": "but-we-may", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/philip-jose-farmer/the-fabulous-riverboat/but-we-may", "text": "But we may not be able to climb high enough. Look at those mountains. They go straight up, smooth as a politician denying he ever made a campaign promise.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Philip José Farmer", "slug": "philip-jose-farmer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/philip-jose-farmer" }, "book": { "title": "The Fabulous Riverboat", "slug": "the-fabulous-riverboat", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/philip-jose-farmer/the-fabulous-riverboat" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 44, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Philip_Jos%C3%A9_Farmer#The_Fabulous_Riverboat_(1971)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:30" }, { "id": "fa4872c6-2045-40dc-b2a5-717749f50927", "slug": "filhyn-smiled-is-it-not", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/iain-m-banks/surface-detail/filhyn-smiled-is-it-not", "text": "Filhyn smiled. “Is it not always better to tell the truth though, Representative?” Errun looked at her, shook his head. “The truth? No matter what? For good or ill? Are you mad? I do hope you’re having a joke with me here, young lady….Don’t pretend you are so naive, Filhyn. The truth is not always useful, not always good. It’s like putting your faith in water. Yes, we need the rain, but too much can sweep you away in a flood and drown you. Like all great natural, elemental forces, the truth needs to be channelled, managed, controlled and intelligently, morally allocated.” He glared at her. “You are having a joke with me, aren’t you?” I might as well be, she thought. She wondered if she would finally be a real politician when she agreed with what Errun was saying.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Iain M. Banks", "slug": "iain-m-banks", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/iain-m-banks" }, "book": { "title": "Surface Detail", "slug": "surface-detail", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/iain-m-banks/surface-detail" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 260, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "truth", "slug": "truth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/truth" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Iain_Banks#Surface_Detail_(2010)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:20" }, { "id": "28322456-82a5-41ef-80ee-c67b696e5202", "slug": "it-rarely-paid", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/iain-m-banks/the-hydrogen-sonata/it-rarely-paid", "text": "It rarely paid to frighten the masses, and it never paid to confuse them.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Iain M. Banks", "slug": "iain-m-banks", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/iain-m-banks" }, "book": { "title": "The Hydrogen Sonata", "slug": "the-hydrogen-sonata", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/iain-m-banks/the-hydrogen-sonata" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 92, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Iain_Banks#The_Hydrogen_Sonata_(2013)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:20" }, { "id": "9c4a3477-1ddb-4f2c-9376-3bddd19dead3", "slug": "a-guilty-system", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/iain-m-banks/the-player-of-games/a-guilty-system", "text": "A guilty system recognizes no innocents. As with any power apparatus which thinks everybody’s either for it or against it, we’re against it. You would be too, if you thought about it. The very way you think places you among its enemies. This might not be your fault, because every society imposes some of its values on those raised within it, but the point is that some societies try to maximize that effect, and some try to minimize it. You come from one of the latter and you’re being asked to explain yourself to one of the former. Prevarication will be more difficult than you imagine; neutrality is probably impossible. You cannot choose not to have the politics you do; they are not some separate set of entities somehow detachable from the rest of your being; they are a function of your existence. I know that and they know that; you had better accept it.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Iain M. Banks", "slug": "iain-m-banks", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/iain-m-banks" }, "book": { "title": "The Player Of Games", "slug": "the-player-of-games", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/iain-m-banks/the-player-of-games" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 215, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Iain_Banks#The_Player_of_Games_(1988)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:16" }, { "id": "7305b55c-9524-41ac-8330-31da989002cd", "slug": "politics-and-nationalism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/mark-kurlansky/cod/politics-and-nationalism", "text": "Politics and nationalism often play far greater roles than conservation in the decision-making process.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Mark Kurlansky", "slug": "mark-kurlansky", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/mark-kurlansky" }, "book": { "title": "Cod", "slug": "cod", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/mark-kurlansky/cod" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 210, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "ecology", "slug": "ecology", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/ecology" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mark_Kurlansky#Cod:_A_Biography_of_the_Fish_That_Changed_the_World_(1997)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:13" }, { "id": "b727717c-ff90-40de-b4eb-e06e46880c8a", "slug": "to-many-our", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/cornel-west/democracy-matters/to-many-our", "text": "To many, our democratic system seems so broken that they have simply lost faith that their participation could really matter. The politics of self-interest and catering to narrow special interests is so dominant that so many ask themselves: Why vote? This disaffection stems both from the all-too-true reality of the corruptions of our system and from a deeper psychic disillusionment and disappointment. The is so formulaic, so tailored into poll-driven, focus-group-approved slogans that don't really say anything substantive or strike at the core of our lived experience; the lack of authenticity of discourse—and the underlying lack of gravitas, of penetrating insight and wisdom on the part of politicians—is numbing. But we must keep in mind that the disgust so many feel comes from a deep desire to hear more authentic expressions of insights about our lives and more genuine commitment to improving them. Many of us long for expressions of real concern both about the pain of our individual lives and about the common good [...] as opposed to the blatant catering to base interests and to narrow elite constituencies. We long for politics that in not about winning a political game but about producing better lives.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Cornel West", "slug": "cornel-west", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/cornel-west" }, "book": { "title": "Democracy Matters", "slug": "democracy-matters", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/cornel-west/democracy-matters" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "democracy", "slug": "democracy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/democracy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cornel_West#Democracy_Matters:_Winning_the_Fight_Against_Imperialism_(2004)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:02" }, { "id": "5a79ac12-0c49-49e5-ba23-37bc1c140d0a", "slug": "hypocrisy-double-standards", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/samuel-p-huntington/the-clash-of-civilizations-and-the-remaking-of-world-order/hypocrisy-double-standards", "text": "Hypocrisy, double standards, and \"but nots\" are the price of universalist pretensions. Democracy is promoted, but not if it brings Islamic fundamentalists to power; nonproliferation is preached for Iran and Iraq, but not for Israel; free trade is the elixir of economic growth, but not for agriculture; human rights are an issue for China, but not with Saudi Arabia; aggression against oil-owning Kuwaitis is massively repulsed, but not against non-oil-owning Bosnians. Double standards in practice are the unavoidable price of universal standards of principle.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Samuel P. Huntington", "slug": "samuel-p-huntington", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/samuel-p-huntington" }, "book": { "title": "The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order", "slug": "the-clash-of-civilizations-and-the-remaking-of-world-order", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/samuel-p-huntington/the-clash-of-civilizations-and-the-remaking-of-world-order" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 184, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "hypocrisy", "slug": "hypocrisy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hypocrisy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Samuel_P._Huntington#The_Clash_of_Civilizations_and_the_Remaking_of_World_Order_(1996)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:52:50" }, { "id": "4f0e8c4b-02d9-4f78-b2bb-625403a99fff", "slug": "i-think-that", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/matthew-stover/shatterpoint-star-wars-legends/i-think-that", "text": "\"I think that you are a very brilliant man. I think that you have more courage than you have ever guessed. I think that you truly care about this city, and the people in it. I think your cynicism is a fraud.\" \"What-what-really, this is astonishing-\" \"I think that if you were truly as corrupt and venal as you pretend, you would be in the Senate.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Matthew Stover", "slug": "matthew-stover", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/matthew-stover" }, "book": { "title": "Shatterpoint: Star Wars Legends", "slug": "shatterpoint-star-wars-legends", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/matthew-stover/shatterpoint-star-wars-legends" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "cynicism", "slug": "cynicism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/cynicism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Matthew_Stover#Shatterpoint_(2004)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:52:45" }, { "id": "5ffc748b-cac2-4501-9426-b31177804b2c", "slug": "things-are-set", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/r-a-lafferty/the-flame-is-green/things-are-set", "text": "Things are set up as contraries that are not even in the same category. Listen to me: the opposite of radical is superficial, the opposite of liberal is stingy; the opposite of conservative is destructive. Thus I will describe myself as a radical conservative liberal; but certain of the tainted red fish will swear that there can be no such fish as that. Beware of those who use words to mean their opposites. At the same time have pity on them, for usually this trick is their only stock in trade.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "R. A. Lafferty", "slug": "r-a-lafferty", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/r-a-lafferty" }, "book": { "title": "The Flame Is Green", "slug": "the-flame-is-green", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/r-a-lafferty/the-flame-is-green" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "words", "slug": "words", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/words" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/R._A._Lafferty#The_Flame_is_Green_(1971)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:52:33" }, { "id": "cc2b395e-1a06-4ace-8776-89d22b489331", "slug": "chamberlains-stubborn-fanatical", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/william-l-shirer/rise-and-fall-of-the-third-reich/chamberlains-stubborn-fanatical", "text": "Chamberlain's stubborn, fanatical insistence on giving Hitler what he wanted, his trips to Berchtesgaden and Godesberg and finally the fateful journey to Munich rescued Hitler from his limb and strengthened his position in Europe, in Germany, in the Army, beyond anything that could have been imagined a few weeks before. It also added immeasurably to the power of the Third Reich vis-à-vis the Western democracies and the Soviet Union.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "William L. Shirer", "slug": "william-l-shirer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/william-l-shirer" }, "book": { "title": "Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich", "slug": "rise-and-fall-of-the-third-reich", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/william-l-shirer/rise-and-fall-of-the-third-reich" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "history", "slug": "history", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/history" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_L._Shirer#The_Rise_and_Fall_of_the_Third_Reich_(1960)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:52:10" }, { "id": "baf3c48d-a33b-49ed-a7a4-3c71e804f630", "slug": "imagine-if-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/billie-holiday/lady-sings-the-blues/imagine-if-the", "text": "Imagine if the government chased sick people with diabetes, put a tax on insulin and drove it into the black market, told doctors they couldn’t treat them, and then caught them, prosecuted them for not paying their taxes, and then sent them to jail. If we did that, everyone would know we were crazy. Yet we do practically the same thing every day in the week to sick people hooked on drugs. The jails are full and the problem is getting worse every day.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Billie Holiday", "slug": "billie-holiday", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/billie-holiday" }, "book": { "title": "Lady Sings the Blues", "slug": "lady-sings-the-blues", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/billie-holiday/lady-sings-the-blues" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "drugs", "slug": "drugs", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/drugs" }, { "name": "addiction", "slug": "addiction-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/addiction-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Billie_Holiday#Lady_Sings_the_Blues_(1956)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:59" }, { "id": "135d87cb-364e-4c66-a1ba-b08e1b479a33", "slug": "that-wasnt-even", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/settling-accounts-in-at-the-death/that-wasnt-even", "text": "That wasn’t even remotely fair, but politics wasn’t about being fair. Politics was about getting your guy in and keeping the other side’s guy out. Once you’d done that, you could do all the other neat stuff you had in mind. If you stood on the sidelines looking longingly toward the playing field, all the neat ideas in the world weren’t worth a dime.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "Settling Accounts: In at the Death", "slug": "settling-accounts-in-at-the-death", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/settling-accounts-in-at-the-death" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 464, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#Settling_Accounts:_In_at_the_Death_(2007)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:56" }, { "id": "edfb67d1-780a-47f6-8e89-62422c58dcd8", "slug": "is-it-better", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/settling-accounts-in-at-the-death/is-it-better", "text": "“Is it better to get shot in a war your side wins than in one where you lose?” O’Doull persisted. “Better not to get shot at all,” McDougald said, a great and obvious truth to which too many people who went down in history as statesmen were blind.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "Settling Accounts: In at the Death", "slug": "settling-accounts-in-at-the-death", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/settling-accounts-in-at-the-death" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 294, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "war", "slug": "war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/war" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#Settling_Accounts:_The_Grapple_(2006)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:55" }, { "id": "e5ae72cb-211e-46be-af65-ce6b331c7118", "slug": "one-of-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/settling-accounts-return-engagement/one-of-the", "text": "One of the drawbacks of being President, he’d discovered, was that you couldn’t always call a damn fool a damn fool to his face. Sometimes, no matter how big a damn fool he was, you knew you might need him again one of these days.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "Settling Accounts: Return Engagement", "slug": "settling-accounts-return-engagement", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/settling-accounts-return-engagement" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 263, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "stupidity", "slug": "stupidity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/stupidity" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#Settling_Accounts:_Return_Engagement_(2004)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:53" }, { "id": "4cbf8271-84e7-41e4-bf41-047ef0ae69a4", "slug": "and-now-just", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/settling-accounts-return-engagement/and-now-just", "text": "And now, just to prove how clever the elected rulers of the country were, they’d decided to reprise what hadn’t worked before.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "Settling Accounts: Return Engagement", "slug": "settling-accounts-return-engagement", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/settling-accounts-return-engagement" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 290, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "mistakes", "slug": "mistakes", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/mistakes" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#Settling_Accounts:_Return_Engagement_(2004)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:53" }, { "id": "68289e6c-2008-4e70-9730-80e1415c8086", "slug": "as-happened-too", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/american-empire-the-victorious-opposition/as-happened-too", "text": "As happened too often in politics, never turned out not to be so very long after all.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "American Empire: The Victorious Opposition", "slug": "american-empire-the-victorious-opposition", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/american-empire-the-victorious-opposition" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 469, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "irony", "slug": "irony", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/irony" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#American_Empire:_The_Victorious_Opposition_(2003)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:52" }, { "id": "9c8a58ed-eebd-4fc9-9be2-ac4f24e509d9", "slug": "that-wasnt-even", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/american-empire-blood-and-iron/that-wasnt-even", "text": "That wasn’t even close to fair, and Sylvia knew it. But she’s already seen that political campaigns weren’t designed to be fair. They were designed to convince, by whatever means possible.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "American Empire: Blood and Iron", "slug": "american-empire-blood-and-iron", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/american-empire-blood-and-iron" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 356, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "manipulation", "slug": "manipulation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/manipulation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#American_Empire:_The_Center_Cannot_Hold_(2002)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:51" }, { "id": "8aff127a-c1ba-40af-9372-8d27db7ea3be", "slug": "thats-logical-thats", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/american-empire-blood-and-iron/thats-logical-thats", "text": "“That’s logical. That’s a rational,” Hosea Blackford said. “Politics, unfortunately, is neither.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "American Empire: Blood and Iron", "slug": "american-empire-blood-and-iron", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/american-empire-blood-and-iron" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 291, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "reason", "slug": "reason", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/reason" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#American_Empire:_The_Center_Cannot_Hold_(2002)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:51" }, { "id": "d2b5c500-1242-4a30-ba48-523bb010d3e1", "slug": "proclaiming-they-had", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/american-empire-blood-and-iron/proclaiming-they-had", "text": "Proclaiming they had the answers was the easy part. Really having them, and making them work—that looked harder. That looked a hell of a lot harder to him. But some people would buy castles in the air because they were short of beans on the ground.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "American Empire: Blood and Iron", "slug": "american-empire-blood-and-iron", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/american-empire-blood-and-iron" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 205, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "promises", "slug": "promises", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/promises" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#American_Empire:_Blood_and_Iron_(2001)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:50" }, { "id": "74c3f25b-a384-406b-9161-99e0d8119510", "slug": "what-people-believe", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/the-great-war-breakthroughs/what-people-believe", "text": "What people believe and what they’ll do because they believe it is a big part of what’s real, especially in politics.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "The Great War: Breakthroughs", "slug": "the-great-war-breakthroughs", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/the-great-war-breakthroughs" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 394, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "beliefs", "slug": "beliefs", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/beliefs" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#The_Great_War:_Breakthroughs_(2000)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:50" }, { "id": "4521deee-9b3c-43cf-8353-fa7c3f68bde0", "slug": "soldiers-dont-make", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/american-empire-blood-and-iron/soldiers-dont-make", "text": "Soldiers don’t make policy. We only carry it out, and get blamed when it goes wrong.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "American Empire: Blood and Iron", "slug": "american-empire-blood-and-iron", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/american-empire-blood-and-iron" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 87, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "responsibility", "slug": "responsibility", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/responsibility" }, { "name": "soldiers", "slug": "soldiers", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/soldiers" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#American_Empire:_The_Center_Cannot_Hold_(2002)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:50" }, { "id": "0b15e3b9-72f0-421a-9ca5-97c482f10dcb", "slug": "youre-still-learning", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/the-great-war-breakthroughs/youre-still-learning", "text": "“You’re still learning the difference between being an agitator and being a politician. Listen to me, Flora.” He sounded very earnest. “Compromise is not a dirty word.” “Maybe it should be,” she answered.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "The Great War: Breakthroughs", "slug": "the-great-war-breakthroughs", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/the-great-war-breakthroughs" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 395, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "compromise", "slug": "compromise", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/compromise" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#The_Great_War:_Breakthroughs_(2000)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:50" }, { "id": "f3d91047-2744-42e3-99a4-75e9ca8cd78f", "slug": "anytime-a-politician", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/the-great-war-walk-in-hell/anytime-a-politician", "text": "Anytime a politician said he wouldn’t beat around the bush, you were well advised to keep your hand on your wallet.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "The Great War: Walk in Hell", "slug": "the-great-war-walk-in-hell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/the-great-war-walk-in-hell" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 329, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "lies", "slug": "lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/lies" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#The_Great_War:_Walk_in_Hell_(1999)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:49" }, { "id": "42622583-71bc-43c0-923c-8d5aa6715752", "slug": "i-must-conclude", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/the-great-war-breakthroughs/i-must-conclude", "text": "“I must conclude that my views on the subject are also the views of the large majority of the American people.” That was probably true. Because of it, Flora did not have a good opinion of the political wisdom of the large majority of the American people. Nationalism kept too many from voting their class interests.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "The Great War: Breakthroughs", "slug": "the-great-war-breakthroughs", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/the-great-war-breakthroughs" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 311, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "nationalism", "slug": "nationalism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/nationalism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#The_Great_War:_Breakthroughs_(2000)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:49" }, { "id": "a8123f05-f484-4397-b76e-9bdc33a1c215", "slug": "war-would-have", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/the-great-war-walk-in-hell/war-would-have", "text": "War would have been a much simpler, easier business with politics out of the mix.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "The Great War: Walk in Hell", "slug": "the-great-war-walk-in-hell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/the-great-war-walk-in-hell" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 282, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "war", "slug": "war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/war" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#The_Great_War:_American_Front_(1998)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:48" }, { "id": "ec24835c-9654-47f5-a424-aed392a06f89", "slug": "why-do-we-have", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/how-few-remain/why-do-we-have", "text": "“Why do we have such a pack of confounded dunderheads running this country?” “My theory used to be that we get the government we deserve,” Sam said. “Bad as we are, though, I don’t think we’re that bad. Right now, I’m taking a long look at the notion that God hates us.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "How Few Remain", "slug": "how-few-remain", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/how-few-remain" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 344, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#How_Few_Remain_(1997)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:47" }, { "id": "6b3f5f16-8a04-4389-9934-cc21d26007f0", "slug": "youre-a-democrat", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/how-few-remain/youre-a-democrat", "text": "“You’re a Democrat, aren’t you general?” somebody asked. “What sensible man isn’t?” Custer returned.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "How Few Remain", "slug": "how-few-remain", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/how-few-remain" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 517, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#How_Few_Remain_(1997)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:47" }, { "id": "58c8a3dd-53ef-4649-8297-0a00802968e5", "slug": "give-me-two", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/how-few-remain/give-me-two", "text": "“Give me two synonyms for ‘idiots,’” Clemens said, and then gave them himself: “‘Fools’ and ‘Republicans.’”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "How Few Remain", "slug": "how-few-remain", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/how-few-remain" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 428, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#How_Few_Remain_(1997)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:47" }, { "id": "573fab4e-fc18-42b6-bdb7-c07f88fce314", "slug": "when-a-politician", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/how-few-remain/when-a-politician", "text": "When a politician, which was what the president of the CSA had long since become, said he was personally in sympathy with something, Jackson had learned, he meant the opposite.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "How Few Remain", "slug": "how-few-remain", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/how-few-remain" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 35, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "hypocrisy", "slug": "hypocrisy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hypocrisy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#How_Few_Remain_(1997)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:47" }, { "id": "56b376d4-8847-47be-9da4-e307699acbad", "slug": "blaine-hated-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/how-few-remain/blaine-hated-the", "text": "Blaine hated the Confederate States because they were a rival, not because they were tyrants. Had they been exemplars of purest democracy, rivals they would have remained, and he would have hated them no less.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "How Few Remain", "slug": "how-few-remain", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/how-few-remain" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 287, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "hatred", "slug": "hatred", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hatred" }, { "name": "enemies", "slug": "enemies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/enemies" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#How_Few_Remain_(1997)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:47" }, { "id": "47cee753-401f-483b-95f5-096383cbbeb5", "slug": "when-was-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/how-few-remain/when-was-the", "text": "When was the last time you heard a Republican speak up for a fair shake for the working man or for justice and equality for all men? Those are the ideals we espoused when we were young. Have they changed from boons to evils as we grew old?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "How Few Remain", "slug": "how-few-remain", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/how-few-remain" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 451, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "old age", "slug": "old-age", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/old-age" }, { "name": "idealism", "slug": "idealism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/idealism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#How_Few_Remain_(1997)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:47" }, { "id": "390642ad-0650-4506-b092-5a3c91f32a81", "slug": "voting-we-might", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neil-postman/amusing-ourselves-to-death/voting-we-might", "text": "Voting, we might even say, is the next to last refuge of the politically impotent.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Neil Postman", "slug": "neil-postman", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neil-postman" }, "book": { "title": "Amusing Ourselves to Death", "slug": "amusing-ourselves-to-death", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neil-postman/amusing-ourselves-to-death" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 69, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "democracy", "slug": "democracy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/democracy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Neil_Postman#Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death:_Public_Discourse_in_the_Age_of_Show_Business_(1985)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:39" }, { "id": "c252575c-e7d9-4dc0-a0fd-8b56755fbe3e", "slug": "now-the-only", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thucydides/history-of-the-peloponnesian-war/now-the-only", "text": "Now the only sure basis of an alliance is for each party to be equally afraid of the other...", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Thucydides", "slug": "thucydides", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thucydides" }, "book": { "title": "History of the Peloponnesian War", "slug": "history-of-the-peloponnesian-war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thucydides/history-of-the-peloponnesian-war" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "fear", "slug": "fear", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/fear" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thucydides#Book_III", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:36" }, { "id": "fdfc3931-d711-4e54-b890-400ca6133c8d", "slug": "politics-makes-strange", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dudley-warner/my-summer-in-a-garden/politics-makes-strange", "text": "Politics makes strange bedfellows.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Charles Dudley Warner", "slug": "charles-dudley-warner", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dudley-warner" }, "book": { "title": "My Summer in a Garden", "slug": "my-summer-in-a-garden", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dudley-warner/my-summer-in-a-garden" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Dudley_Warner#My_Summer_in_a_Garden_(1870)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:35" }, { "id": "0b25a737-452f-454f-b639-9d2ae65a6f85", "slug": "there-has-always", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/richard-hofstadter/anti-intellectualism-in-american-life/there-has-always", "text": "There has always been in our national experience a type of mind which elevates hatred to a kind of creed; for this mind, group hatreds take a place in politics similar to the class struggle in some other modern societies.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Richard Hofstadter", "slug": "richard-hofstadter", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/richard-hofstadter" }, "book": { "title": "Anti-Intellectualism in American Life", "slug": "anti-intellectualism-in-american-life", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/richard-hofstadter/anti-intellectualism-in-american-life" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 37, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "hatred", "slug": "hatred", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hatred" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Hofstadter#Anti-Intellectualism_in_American_Life_(1963)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:34" }, { "id": "5860fd0b-ddf0-40ae-a5e2-daeb71074527", "slug": "machiavelli-says-that", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/j-m-coetzee/diary-of-a-bad-year/machiavelli-says-that", "text": "Machiavelli says that if as a ruler you accept that your every action must pass moral scrutiny, you will without fail be defeated by an opponent who submits to no such moral test. To hold on to power, you have not only to master the crafts of deception and treachery but to be prepared to use them where necessary.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "J. M. Coetzee", "slug": "j-m-coetzee", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/j-m-coetzee" }, "book": { "title": "Diary of a Bad Year", "slug": "diary-of-a-bad-year", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/j-m-coetzee/diary-of-a-bad-year" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 17, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "morality", "slug": "morality", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/morality" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/J._M._Coetzee#Diary_of_a_Bad_Year_(2007)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:33" }, { "id": "d4112b84-c7ae-4608-9dd0-de098ca360bc", "slug": "we-indians-arjun", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/shashi-tharoor/the-great-indian-novel/we-indians-arjun", "text": "We Indians, Arjun, are so good at respecting outward forms while ignoring the substance. We took the forms of parliamentary democracy, preserved them, put them on pedestal and paid them due obeisance. But we ignored the basic fact that parliamentary democracy can only work if those who run it are constantly responsive to needs of the people and if parliamentarians are qualified enough to legislate. Neither condition was fulfilled in India for long. Today most people are simply aware of their own irrelevance to the process. They see themselves standing helplessly on the margins while professional politicians and unprofessional politicians combine to run the country to the ground.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Shashi Tharoor", "slug": "shashi-tharoor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/shashi-tharoor" }, "book": { "title": "The Great Indian Novel", "slug": "the-great-indian-novel", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/shashi-tharoor/the-great-indian-novel" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "democracy", "slug": "democracy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/democracy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Shashi_Tharoor#The_Great_Indian_Novel_(1989)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:29" }, { "id": "cad5d6ec-f692-4e11-9d2e-098e4c30949f", "slug": "the-gardener-says", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/the-margarets/the-gardener-says", "text": "The Gardener says that mortals often pass laws they cannot enforce in order to be seen as “strong,” or “determined,” even though they know the laws will not solve the problem.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Sheri S. Tepper", "slug": "sheri-s-tepper", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper" }, "book": { "title": "The Margarets", "slug": "the-margarets", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/the-margarets" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 56, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "law", "slug": "law", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/law" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sheri_S._Tepper#The_Margarets_(2007)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:28" }, { "id": "6b86b63f-f375-44b9-b5da-053099cc6143", "slug": "the-vehicles-of-human", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/shashi-tharoor/the-great-indian-novel/the-vehicles-of-human", "text": "The vehicles of human politics seem to run off course, but the site of the accident turns out to have been the intended destination.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Shashi Tharoor", "slug": "shashi-tharoor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/shashi-tharoor" }, "book": { "title": "The Great Indian Novel", "slug": "the-great-indian-novel", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/shashi-tharoor/the-great-indian-novel" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "irony", "slug": "irony", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/irony" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Shashi_Tharoor#The_Great_Indian_Novel_(1989)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:28" }, { "id": "cd338087-2517-44a3-bf45-35517c5d85f8", "slug": "a-lot-of-things", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/the-fresco/a-lot-of-things", "text": "“A lot of things they speak of doing are things many humans have wanted to do but have never been able to muster a mandate to get them done. Things like legalizing drugs to take out the profit motive. Or paying teachers the way we do athletes, depending on how effective they are. Or getting rid of weapons whose only purpose is to kill people.” “Is a mandate necessary?” “If you’re going to overcome an economic incentive, yes.” “Logic has no part?” “No part at all. People can see the problem, they’re not stupid, but they can’t influence the legislators the way money can. Even when bad situations go on and on until the people are desperate for a correction, even when they threaten legislators with voting them out, the money still prevails.” “It is hard for me to see how this could happen.” Chad said, “The legislators react to a problem by writing a law, let’s say to put repeat drunk drivers in jail. The liquor industry objects, because they don’t like a lot of discussion about drunkenness, it hurts their image. The legislators react by amending the law to create a commission to study how best to jail drunk drivers. Then, when the budget bills come along, they fund only the commission. The appointees to the commission include representatives of the liquor industry. “This allows the legislators to claim success, because the law got voted in. The liquor industry also claims success, because they made sure the law won’t work. “The next step is to hire a lot of people to work for the commission, many of whom are also liquor industry supporters, and the commission begins to issue long, complicated, vaguely pointless reports. Now, however, there are jobs involved, and legislators can’t get rid of jobs, even useless ones. “Then, repeatedly, the lawmakers amend the law further, tweaking this and changing that, but always adding more jobs—until we have a bureaucratic monstrosity that’s in the business of helping the liquor industry prevent legislation against drunk drivers. That’s the way our Forestry Service got to be owned by the lumbermen, and our DEA got to be owned by the drug cartels, welfare got to be owned by a social work hierarchy, and schools got to be owned by professional educationalists. None of them work, because that’s not what they’re designed to do.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Sheri S. Tepper", "slug": "sheri-s-tepper", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper" }, "book": { "title": "The Fresco", "slug": "the-fresco", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/the-fresco" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 438, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "money", "slug": "money", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/money" }, { "name": "bureaucracy", "slug": "bureaucracy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/bureaucracy" }, { "name": "corruption", "slug": "corruption", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/corruption" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sheri_S._Tepper#The_Fresco_(2000)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:27" }, { "id": "44f0ff9f-e4fb-41fe-91a6-0025b45c9864", "slug": "your-leaders-worshipped", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/the-visitor/your-leaders-worshipped", "text": "Your leaders worshipped the greed devil when they sold their votes and influence to spread bad stuff; they worshipped the power devil when they valued votes over the health of the planet; they made a pretence of mercy and justice by advocating human rights while they sucked up to dominance devils whose law was torture and whose rule was the enslavement of women.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Sheri S. Tepper", "slug": "sheri-s-tepper", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper" }, "book": { "title": "The Visitor", "slug": "the-visitor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/the-visitor" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 461, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "greed", "slug": "greed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/greed" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sheri_S._Tepper#The_Visitor_(2002)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:27" }, { "id": "ce33f56e-9c4e-4232-89b2-56f376e35c17", "slug": "that-is-a-phrase", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/the-fresco/that-is-a-phrase", "text": "That is a phrase I had never heard before, dear Benita. Playing politics. It is like playing war, a game for degenerates. Statesmen should not “play” politics.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Sheri S. Tepper", "slug": "sheri-s-tepper", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper" }, "book": { "title": "The Fresco", "slug": "the-fresco", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/the-fresco" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 355, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sheri_S._Tepper#The_Fresco_(2000)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:26" }, { "id": "53b3a6b7-761a-419f-83ca-b90c9eef7652", "slug": "the-practice-of-diplomacy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/the-fresco/the-practice-of-diplomacy", "text": "The practice of diplomacy, I have found, is sometimes like eating soup with a fork: much activity yielding little nourishment.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Sheri S. Tepper", "slug": "sheri-s-tepper", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper" }, "book": { "title": "The Fresco", "slug": "the-fresco", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/the-fresco" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 358, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sheri_S._Tepper#The_Fresco_(2000)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:26" }, { "id": "4b07b10b-42d2-47fe-bd9f-6c03d22e89cc", "slug": "she-concluded-legalization", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/the-fresco/she-concluded-legalization", "text": "She concluded: “Legalization would drive prices down, crime would stop, then we could take care of the addicts...” “And you do not do this because of...politics?” The Secretary of State said, “The war against drugs is big business. Thousands of people are on the payroll. The people on the payroll don’t want the problem solved, though they can’t say that out loud or, perhaps, even admit it to themselves. Instead, they continue to take a moral position that requires them to punish people. Punishing people is always considered moral.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Sheri S. Tepper", "slug": "sheri-s-tepper", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper" }, "book": { "title": "The Fresco", "slug": "the-fresco", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/the-fresco" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 103, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "drugs", "slug": "drugs", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/drugs" }, { "name": "punishment", "slug": "punishment", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/punishment" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sheri_S._Tepper#The_Fresco_(2000)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:26" }, { "id": "dc57d9d7-27b5-46a8-bbcd-55c41907a860", "slug": "according-to-mama", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/beauty/according-to-mama", "text": "According to Mama, nine-tenths of King Arthur was questing and the other tenth was politics.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Sheri S. Tepper", "slug": "sheri-s-tepper", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper" }, "book": { "title": "Beauty", "slug": "beauty", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/beauty" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 241, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sheri_S._Tepper#Beauty_(1991)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:24" }, { "id": "ade3a7c1-e180-4844-86ba-91f79236b03a", "slug": "the-first-rule", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/shadows-end/the-first-rule", "text": "“The first rule of governance is never to choose who to sacrifice,” snarled the Procurator. “Or, at least, never to be seen to choose. Death and dismemberment must always be…inadvertent. Everybody’s fault or nobody’s fault!”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Sheri S. Tepper", "slug": "sheri-s-tepper", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper" }, "book": { "title": "Shadow’s End", "slug": "shadows-end", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/shadows-end" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 82, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "cynicism", "slug": "cynicism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/cynicism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sheri_S._Tepper#Shadow's_End_(1994)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:24" }, { "id": "ee866315-e129-447b-80cf-416947a27f19", "slug": "think-of-how", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/sideshow/think-of-how", "text": "Think of how much time and effort it would have saved if we’d only known what man’s destiny actually was. Think of our time, all the fundamentalist fascists versus the civil libertines; all the liberals throwing our money at the poor versus the conservatives throwing our money at themselves; all the male versus female controversies, all the revolutions, sexual, political, and economic. How marvelous if we’d only known what was important and what wasn’t!", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Sheri S. Tepper", "slug": "sheri-s-tepper", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper" }, "book": { "title": "Sideshow", "slug": "sideshow", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/sideshow" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 360, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "fate", "slug": "fate", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/fate" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sheri_S._Tepper#Sideshow_(1992)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:23" }, { "id": "7f6c3adc-0598-4ace-8e97-9fb4d66181ec", "slug": "they-parade-their", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/sideshow/they-parade-their", "text": "They parade their cruelty openly, calling it diplomacy, calling it expediency, as governments always have.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Sheri S. Tepper", "slug": "sheri-s-tepper", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper" }, "book": { "title": "Sideshow", "slug": "sideshow", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/sideshow" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 224, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "cruelty", "slug": "cruelty", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/cruelty" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sheri_S._Tepper#Sideshow_(1992)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:23" }, { "id": "0f3462df-16cc-42a6-a710-ddcc834aae1d", "slug": "their-act-was", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/sideshow/their-act-was", "text": "Their act was fine as it was, but as Sizzy said, mere titillation was limited by both prurience and credulity, while entertainment had no boundaries. “If you entertain people well enough, they don’t care you’re a fake,” said Aunt Sizzy. “Most people don’t give a damn about the truth, anyhow.” She mentioned some politicians, including a recent president, as examples. “The world’s biggest phonies, not very bright, but they entertained people, so nobody cared.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Sheri S. Tepper", "slug": "sheri-s-tepper", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper" }, "book": { "title": "Sideshow", "slug": "sideshow", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/sideshow" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 53, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "truth", "slug": "truth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/truth" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "play", "slug": "play", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/play" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sheri_S._Tepper#Sideshow_(1992)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:23" }, { "id": "83a1c74e-c7a4-4741-b935-fcbc1d421fcb", "slug": "just-as-novels", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/amitav-ghosh/the-great-derangement-from-bestselling-author-and-winner-of-the-2018-jnanpith-award/just-as-novels", "text": "Just as novels have come to be seen as narratives of identity, so too has politics become, for many, a search for personal authenticity, a journey of self-discovery.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Amitav Ghosh", "slug": "amitav-ghosh", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/amitav-ghosh" }, "book": { "title": "The Great Derangement: From bestselling author and winner of the 2018 Jnanpith Award", "slug": "the-great-derangement-from-bestselling-author-and-winner-of-the-2018-jnanpith-award", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/amitav-ghosh/the-great-derangement-from-bestselling-author-and-winner-of-the-2018-jnanpith-award" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "identity", "slug": "identity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/identity" }, { "name": "authenticity", "slug": "authenticity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/authenticity" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Amitav_Ghosh#The_Great_Derangement:_Climate_Change_and_the_Unthinkable_(2016)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:17" }, { "id": "ec9fdc06-45de-4ffd-aab4-ea06c8c1b951", "slug": "im-not-a-demagogue", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/octavia-e-butler/parable-of-the-talents/im-not-a-demagogue", "text": "“I’m not a demagogue.” “That’s too bad. That leaves the field to people who are demagogues—to the Jarrets of the world. And there have always been Jarrets. Probably there always will be.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Octavia E. Butler", "slug": "octavia-e-butler", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/octavia-e-butler" }, "book": { "title": "Parable of the Talents", "slug": "parable-of-the-talents", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/octavia-e-butler/parable-of-the-talents" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 395, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "manipulation", "slug": "manipulation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/manipulation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Octavia_Butler#Parable_of_the_Talents_(1998)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:11" }, { "id": "71143f2a-0441-42e8-a02d-426b8b92a002", "slug": "life-is-getting", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/octavia-e-butler/parable-of-the-talents/life-is-getting", "text": "Life is getting better, but that won’t stop a war if politicians and business people decide it’s to their advantage to have one.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Octavia E. Butler", "slug": "octavia-e-butler", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/octavia-e-butler" }, "book": { "title": "Parable of the Talents", "slug": "parable-of-the-talents", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/octavia-e-butler/parable-of-the-talents" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 90, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "war", "slug": "war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/war" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Octavia_Butler#Parable_of_the_Talents_(1998)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:11" }, { "id": "790e6139-23fc-4646-ba68-dcb2c7d77c1a", "slug": "nobody-ever-rioted", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-monbiot/heat/nobody-ever-rioted", "text": "Nobody ever rioted for austerity. (p. 96)", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Monbiot", "slug": "george-monbiot", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-monbiot" }, "book": { "title": "Heat", "slug": "heat", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-monbiot/heat" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Monbiot#Heat:_How_to_Stop_the_Planet_Burning_(2006)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:04" }, { "id": "5c2befc4-80a2-4f02-8184-038a32d0aa71", "slug": "for-the-world", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden/promises-to-keep/for-the-world", "text": "For the world to follow, we must do more than rattle our sabers and demand allegienace to our vision simply because we believe we are right. We must provide a reason for others to aspire to that vision. And that reason must come with more than the repetition of a bumper-sticker phrase about freedom and democracy. It must come with more than the restatement of failed policy. It must come with the wisdom to admit when we are wrong and resolve to change course and get it right.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Joe Biden", "slug": "joe-biden", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden" }, "book": { "title": "Promises to Keep", "slug": "promises-to-keep", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden/promises-to-keep" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 353, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "mistakes", "slug": "mistakes", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/mistakes" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joe_Biden#Promises_to_Keep_(2008)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:51" }, { "id": "2e153cc2-e6f3-4a71-9547-cda068e94bd3", "slug": "there-is-never", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden/promises-to-keep/there-is-never", "text": "There is never a time when a president can act to stop a tragedy from occurring without being held politically accountable one way or the other. If he does it and fails, he's wrong. If he does it and succeeds, he was never right because it didn't happen. If we go in and stop an act of genocide, we can't prove what we stopped.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Joe Biden", "slug": "joe-biden", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden" }, "book": { "title": "Promises to Keep", "slug": "promises-to-keep", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden/promises-to-keep" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 281, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "responsibility", "slug": "responsibility", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/responsibility" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joe_Biden#Promises_to_Keep_(2008)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:51" }, { "id": "b47bc29f-4c2c-470f-8baa-bb4f49839d0b", "slug": "we-all-know", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden/promises-to-keep/we-all-know", "text": "We all know- or at least we are told continually- that we are a divided people. And we know there's a degree of truth in it. We have too often allowed our differences to prevail among us. We have too often allowed ambitious men to play off those differences for political gain. We have too often retreated behind our differences when no one really tried to lead us beyond them. But all our differences hardly measure up to the values we all hold in common... I am running for the Senate because... I want to make the system work again, and I am convinced that is what all Americans really want.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Joe Biden", "slug": "joe-biden", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden" }, "book": { "title": "Promises to Keep", "slug": "promises-to-keep", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden/promises-to-keep" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "diversity", "slug": "diversity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/diversity" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joe_Biden#Promises_to_Keep_(2008)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:50" }, { "id": "8a4c4f0f-11e0-4752-9e01-bb6c9d613b98", "slug": "they-didnt-take", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden/promises-to-keep/they-didnt-take", "text": "They didn’t take on the welfare programs directly; they didn’t talk about eliminating welfare. They just kept up a steady drumbeat about welfare cheats and how the federal government was wasting the money taken from hardworking taxpayers. I’ll give the Republicans this much: It was a mercenary message, but it resonated. And they had taken the easy way out. It required a lot less energy, intelligence, and competence to run against government than to try to make government work. But there was also a blowback effect in Congress: Respect for the institution and civility among its members began to ebb.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Joe Biden", "slug": "joe-biden", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden" }, "book": { "title": "Promises to Keep", "slug": "promises-to-keep", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden/promises-to-keep" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 134, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joe_Biden#Promises_to_Keep_(2008)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:50" }, { "id": "686f89f6-3e04-402b-9225-7dc713f7d036", "slug": "no-matter-how", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden/promises-to-keep/no-matter-how", "text": "No matter how well intended our country is, we cannot expect other nations to trust us as much as we trust ourselves.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Joe Biden", "slug": "joe-biden", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden" }, "book": { "title": "Promises to Keep", "slug": "promises-to-keep", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden/promises-to-keep" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 145, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "trust", "slug": "trust", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/trust" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joe_Biden#Promises_to_Keep_(2008)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:50" }, { "id": "6028e0a7-b85f-49e0-a250-94ceba0f490f", "slug": "he-wanted-me-to-understand", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden/promises-to-keep/he-wanted-me-to-understand", "text": "He wanted me to understand two big things: First, that nobody, no group, is above others. Public servants are obliged to level with everybody, whether or not they'll like what he has to say. And second, that politics was a matter of personal honor. A man's word is his bond. You give your word, you keep it. For as long as I can remember, I've had a sort of romantic notion of what politics should be- and can be. If you do politics the right way, I believe, you can actually make people's lives better. And integrity is the minimum ante to get into the game. Nearly forty years after I first got involved, I remain captivated by the possibilities of politics and public service. In fact, I believe- as I know my grandpop did- that my chosen profession is a noble calling.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Joe Biden", "slug": "joe-biden", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden" }, "book": { "title": "Promises to Keep", "slug": "promises-to-keep", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden/promises-to-keep" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "honour", "slug": "honour", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/honour" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joe_Biden#Promises_to_Keep_(2008)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:50" }, { "id": "52ef6dff-2da8-4d80-90e5-d68b09e25bf9", "slug": "i-think-i-instinctively", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden/promises-to-keep/i-think-i-instinctively", "text": "I think I instinctively understood that my most important duty was to be a target. People were desperate to vent their anger, and if they could yell at a united States senator, all the better. Part of being a public servant, I came to understand in 1978, was absorbing the anger of people who don't know where to turn. If I couldn't solve the problem for them, I had to at least be an outlet.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Joe Biden", "slug": "joe-biden", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden" }, "book": { "title": "Promises to Keep", "slug": "promises-to-keep", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden/promises-to-keep" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 127, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "anger", "slug": "anger", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/anger" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joe_Biden#Promises_to_Keep_(2008)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:50" }, { "id": "cf9515d8-b23f-4a7a-8199-68794aa4925b", "slug": "when-im-driving", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/noam-chomsky/the-chomsky-reader/when-im-driving", "text": "When I'm driving, I sometimes turn on the radio and I find very often that what I'm listening to is a discussion of sports. These are telephone conversations. People call in and have long and intricate discussions, and it's plain that quite a high degree of thought and analysis is going into that. People know a tremendous amount. They know all sorts of complicated details and enter into far-reaching discussion about whether the coach made the right decision yesterday and so on. These are ordinary people, not professionals, who are applying their intelligence and analytic skills in these areas and accumulating quite a lot of knowledge and, for all I know, understanding. On the other hand, when I hear people talk about, say, international affairs or domestic problems, it's at a level of superficiality which is beyond belief.In part, this reaction may be due to my own areas of interest, but I think it's quite accurate, basically. And I think that this concentration on topics such as sports makes a certain degree of sense. The way the system is set up, there is virtually nothing people can do anyway, without a degree of organization that's far beyond anything that exists now, to influence the real world. They might as well live in a fantasy world, and that's in fact what they do.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Noam Chomsky", "slug": "noam-chomsky", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/noam-chomsky" }, "book": { "title": "The Chomsky Reader", "slug": "the-chomsky-reader", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/noam-chomsky/the-chomsky-reader" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 33, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "sport", "slug": "sport", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/sport" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Chomsky_Reader#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:47" }, { "id": "92ecbfde-e1fb-461e-939b-48a4f8b34dbd", "slug": "of-course-we-can", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-brin/the-postman/of-course-we-can", "text": "Of course we can establish constitutional checks and balances, but those won’t mean a thing unless citizens make sure the safeguards are taken seriously. The greedy and the power-hungry will always look for ways to break the rules, or twist them to their advantage.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "David Brin", "slug": "david-brin", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-brin" }, "book": { "title": "The Postman", "slug": "the-postman", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-brin/the-postman" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 266, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "greed", "slug": "greed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/greed" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Brin#Section_3,_%E2%80%9CCincinnatus%E2%80%9D", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:43" }, { "id": "7710fa05-8172-4ceb-9b09-38503157b0df", "slug": "how-can-we-set", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-brin/the-postman/how-can-we-set", "text": "How can we set up a system which encourages individuals to strive and excel, and yet which shows some compassion to the weak, and weeds out madmen and tyrants?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "David Brin", "slug": "david-brin", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-brin" }, "book": { "title": "The Postman", "slug": "the-postman", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-brin/the-postman" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 266, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Brin#Section_3,_%E2%80%9CCincinnatus%E2%80%9D", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:43" }, { "id": "8cdb8027-c50d-4286-b724-29838b364fee", "slug": "no-politician-can", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/saul-alinsky/rules-for-radicals/no-politician-can", "text": "No politician can sit on a hot issue if you make it hot enough.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Saul Alinsky", "slug": "saul-alinsky", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/saul-alinsky" }, "book": { "title": "Rules for Radicals", "slug": "rules-for-radicals", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/saul-alinsky/rules-for-radicals" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Saul_Alinsky#Rules_for_Radicals:_A_Practical_Primer_for_Realistic_Radicals_(1971)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:42" }, { "id": "644b18d3-f78f-4034-9ba7-fc3d38ae76ac", "slug": "in-this-world", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/saul-alinsky/rules-for-radicals/in-this-world", "text": "In this world laws are written for the lofty aim of \"the common good\" and then acted out in life on the basis of the common greed. In this world irrationality clings to man like his shadow so that the right things get done for the wrong reasons—afterwards, we dredge up the right reasons for justification. It is a world not of angels but of angles, where men speak of moral principles but act on power principles; a world where we are always moral and our enemies always immoral; a world where \"reconciliation\" means that when one side gets the power and the other side gets reconciled to it, then we have reconciliation.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Saul Alinsky", "slug": "saul-alinsky", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/saul-alinsky" }, "book": { "title": "Rules for Radicals", "slug": "rules-for-radicals", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/saul-alinsky/rules-for-radicals" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 13, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "hypocrisy", "slug": "hypocrisy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hypocrisy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Saul_Alinsky#Rules_for_Radicals:_A_Practical_Primer_for_Realistic_Radicals_(1971)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:42" }, { "id": "a1d9c551-87ff-489a-9e26-d5b4674436db", "slug": "although-the-ruling", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/slavoj-zizek/first-as-tragedy-then-as-farce/although-the-ruling", "text": "Although the \"ruling class\"disagrees with the populists' moral agenda it tolerates the \"moral war\"as a means of keeping the lower classes in check, that is, it enables the latter to articulate their fury without disturbing the economic status quo.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Slavoj Žižek", "slug": "slavoj-zizek", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/slavoj-zizek" }, "book": { "title": "First as Tragedy, Then as Farce", "slug": "first-as-tragedy-then-as-farce", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/slavoj-zizek/first-as-tragedy-then-as-farce" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Slavoj_%C5%BDi%C5%BEek#First_as_Tragedy,_Then_as_Farce_(2009)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:19" }, { "id": "c7a12961-dd02-41b1-ac5f-ca0f05dc9469", "slug": "we-dont-always", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/orson-scott-card/shadow-puppets/we-dont-always", "text": "\"We don't always get the leader that we want,\" said Graff. \"But sometimes we get to choose among the leaders that we have.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Orson Scott Card", "slug": "orson-scott-card", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/orson-scott-card" }, "book": { "title": "Shadow Puppets", "slug": "shadow-puppets", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/orson-scott-card/shadow-puppets" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "leadership", "slug": "leadership", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/leadership" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Shadow_Puppets#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:10" }, { "id": "ac818056-433e-4a76-ad59-d2a8ea381bda", "slug": "when-occasions-present", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexander-hamilton/the-federalist-papers/when-occasions-present", "text": "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.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Alexander Hamilton", "slug": "alexander-hamilton", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexander-hamilton" }, "book": { "title": "The Federalist Papers", "slug": "the-federalist-papers", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexander-hamilton/the-federalist-papers" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexander_Hamilton#The_Federalist_Papers_(1787%E2%80%931788)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:06" }, { "id": "0b8b1cb3-07bc-4303-b771-4319011400cc", "slug": "i-should-esteem", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexander-hamilton/the-federalist-papers/i-should-esteem", "text": "I should esteem it the extreme of imprudence to prolong the precarious state of our national affairs, and to expose the Union to the jeopardy of successive experiments, in the chimerical pursuit of a perfect plan. I never expect to see a perfect work from imperfect man. The result of the deliberations of all collective bodies must necessarily be a compound, as well of the errors and prejudices, as of the good sense and wisdom, of the individuals of whom they are composed.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Alexander Hamilton", "slug": "alexander-hamilton", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexander-hamilton" }, "book": { "title": "The Federalist Papers", "slug": "the-federalist-papers", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexander-hamilton/the-federalist-papers" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "perfection", "slug": "perfection", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/perfection" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexander_Hamilton#The_Federalist_Papers_(1787%E2%80%931788)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:06" }, { "id": "636ae628-bb80-4541-bf83-d06370ce02dc", "slug": "it-has-been", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexander-hamilton/the-federalist-papers/it-has-been", "text": "It has been frequently remarked that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Alexander Hamilton", "slug": "alexander-hamilton", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexander-hamilton" }, "book": { "title": "The Federalist Papers", "slug": "the-federalist-papers", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexander-hamilton/the-federalist-papers" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "democracy", "slug": "democracy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/democracy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexander_Hamilton#The_Federalist_Papers_(1787%E2%80%931788)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:05" }, { "id": "628f553e-2785-4020-804b-084dd291e8b0", "slug": "to-look-for", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexander-hamilton/the-federalist-papers/to-look-for", "text": "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.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Alexander Hamilton", "slug": "alexander-hamilton", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexander-hamilton" }, "book": { "title": "The Federalist Papers", "slug": "the-federalist-papers", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexander-hamilton/the-federalist-papers" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "history", "slug": "history", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/history" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexander_Hamilton#The_Federalist_Papers_(1787%E2%80%931788)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:05" }, { "id": "5be4f27d-848a-4154-9b6b-d2f98bbccab7", "slug": "in-politics-as-in-religion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexander-hamilton/the-federalist-papers/in-politics-as-in-religion", "text": "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.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Alexander Hamilton", "slug": "alexander-hamilton", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexander-hamilton" }, "book": { "title": "The Federalist Papers", "slug": "the-federalist-papers", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexander-hamilton/the-federalist-papers" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "religion", "slug": "religion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/religion" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "tolerance", "slug": "tolerance", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/tolerance" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexander_Hamilton#The_Federalist_Papers_(1787%E2%80%931788)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:05" }, { "id": "7665cb4a-4738-4c24-a59e-b008718f1d30", "slug": "from-politics-it-was", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jane-austen/northanger-abbey/from-politics-it-was", "text": "From politics it was an easy step to silence.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jane Austen", "slug": "jane-austen", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jane-austen" }, "book": { "title": "Northanger Abbey", "slug": "northanger-abbey", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jane-austen/northanger-abbey" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "silence", "slug": "silence-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/silence-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Northanger_Abbey#Chapter_14", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:49:44" }, { "id": "75fe1755-ea23-4e6c-82bf-e45583797e83", "slug": "the-goal-of-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-mamet/the-secret-knowledge/the-goal-of-the", "text": "The goal of the Left is a government-run country and that of the Right the freedom of the individual from government. Page 236.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "David Mamet", "slug": "david-mamet", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-mamet" }, "book": { "title": "The Secret Knowledge", "slug": "the-secret-knowledge", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-mamet/the-secret-knowledge" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "freedom", "slug": "freedom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/freedom" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Mamet#The_Secret_Knowledge", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:49:27" }, { "id": "1670ce14-d945-4887-91ac-7b50a74e82ca", "slug": "the-good-causes", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-mamet/the-secret-knowledge/the-good-causes", "text": "The good causes of the Left may generally be compared to NASCAR; they offer the diversion of watching things go excitingly around in a circle, getting nowhere. Page 11.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "David Mamet", "slug": "david-mamet", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-mamet" }, "book": { "title": "The Secret Knowledge", "slug": "the-secret-knowledge", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-mamet/the-secret-knowledge" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "irony", "slug": "irony", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/irony" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Mamet#The_Secret_Knowledge", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:49:27" }, { "id": "3eb83617-5fc2-40d1-aef7-0a4729eb3a50", "slug": "after-spending-a-week", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-rider-haggard/king-solomons-mines/after-spending-a-week", "text": "After spending a week in Cape Town, finding that they overcharged me at the hotel, and having seen everything there was to see, including the botanical gardens, which seem to me likely to confer a great benefit on the country, and the new Houses of Parliament, which I expect will do nothing of the sort, I determined to go back to Natal.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry Rider Haggard", "slug": "henry-rider-haggard", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-rider-haggard" }, "book": { "title": "King Solomon's Mines", "slug": "king-solomons-mines", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-rider-haggard/king-solomons-mines" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._Rider_Haggard#King_Solomon's_Mines_(1885)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:49:26" }, { "id": "fd48b095-2a4f-4783-88e2-ee300ce5e868", "slug": "all-of-which", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brian-aldiss/greybeard/all-of-which", "text": "All of which pointed to a moral that they should have learned long before, Arthur thought: Never trust a bunch of lousy politicians to do your thinking for you.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Brian Aldiss", "slug": "brian-aldiss", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brian-aldiss" }, "book": { "title": "Greybeard", "slug": "greybeard", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brian-aldiss/greybeard" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 171, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Brian_Aldiss#Greybeard_(1964)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:49:12" }, { "id": "5eac3f86-9525-42ea-add7-f3fcd7397a4f", "slug": "the-shuffle-only", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brian-aldiss/greybeard/the-shuffle-only", "text": "The shuffle only demonstrated people’s fatuous belief in a political cure for a human condition.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Brian Aldiss", "slug": "brian-aldiss", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brian-aldiss" }, "book": { "title": "Greybeard", "slug": "greybeard", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brian-aldiss/greybeard" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 170, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "human nature", "slug": "human-nature", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/human-nature" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Brian_Aldiss#Greybeard_(1964)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:49:12" }, { "id": "386a1fc6-964b-4097-8694-a0cdcf717bc6", "slug": "its-a-national", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brian-aldiss/greybeard/its-a-national", "text": "It’s a national failing to think of politics as something that goes on in Parliament. It isn’t; it’s something that goes on inside us.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Brian Aldiss", "slug": "brian-aldiss", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brian-aldiss" }, "book": { "title": "Greybeard", "slug": "greybeard", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brian-aldiss/greybeard" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 47, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Brian_Aldiss#Greybeard_(1964)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:49:12" }, { "id": "063a4453-2d42-4e81-b190-ddc2aed1c3a6", "slug": "the-beast-stands", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/evelyn-waugh/scoop/the-beast-stands", "text": "\"The Beast stands for strong mutually antagonistic governments everywhere,\" he said. \"Self-sufficiency at home, self-assertion abroad.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Evelyn Waugh", "slug": "evelyn-waugh", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/evelyn-waugh" }, "book": { "title": "Scoop", "slug": "scoop", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/evelyn-waugh/scoop" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "irony", "slug": "irony", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/irony" }, { "name": "media", "slug": "media", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/media" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Evelyn_Waugh#Scoop_(1938)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:55" }, { "id": "f10c5f57-eab3-4567-9d2c-4ede6fa1bcd2", "slug": "i-view-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jesse-ventura/i-aint-got-time-to-bleed/i-view-the", "text": "I view the traditional two parties as in some ways very evil. They've become monsters that are out of control. The two parties don't have in mind what's best for Minnesota. The only things that are important to them are their own agendas and their pork. Government's become just a battle of power between the two parties. But now that Minnesota has a governor who truly comes from the private sector, a lot of light's going to be shed on how the system is unfair to people outside the two parties.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jesse Ventura", "slug": "jesse-ventura", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jesse-ventura" }, "book": { "title": "I Ain't Got Time to Bleed", "slug": "i-aint-got-time-to-bleed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jesse-ventura/i-aint-got-time-to-bleed" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#I_Ain't_Got_Time_To_Bleed_(1999)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:49" }, { "id": "ad979c23-f1c1-44d2-a780-875fd5f92619", "slug": "i-decided-to-run", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jesse-ventura/i-aint-got-time-to-bleed/i-decided-to-run", "text": "I decided to run for governor because I got mad.... I want to make government more directly accountable to the people.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jesse Ventura", "slug": "jesse-ventura", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jesse-ventura" }, "book": { "title": "I Ain't Got Time to Bleed", "slug": "i-aint-got-time-to-bleed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jesse-ventura/i-aint-got-time-to-bleed" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "anger", "slug": "anger", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/anger" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#I_Ain't_Got_Time_To_Bleed_(1999)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:49" }, { "id": "714ad4c9-9b8d-4d98-95b0-50b93a545c25", "slug": "during-my-transition", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jesse-ventura/i-aint-got-time-to-bleed/during-my-transition", "text": "During my transition period, I brought in 13 people who were either first-time voters or who hadn't voted in five consecutive elections. I asked each of them a question: Now that you've come into the system, how do we keep you involved? Their answers were very clear, very honest. They said, It's the same story every four years. Whenever an election's coming up, all the politicians come out and give you the same song and dance about the same issues, all the way up until they get elected. Then you don't hear any more from them until it's time for them to get elected again. We're tired of it. If you want to keep us involved, don't tell us what you think we want to hear, tell us the truth. There's a great need in our government right now for honesty. I speak my mind. You might not always like what you hear, but you're gonna hear it anyway. I call it like I see it; I tell the truth. And if I don't know something, I'll say so. Then I'll try to find the answer.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jesse Ventura", "slug": "jesse-ventura", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jesse-ventura" }, "book": { "title": "I Ain't Got Time to Bleed", "slug": "i-aint-got-time-to-bleed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jesse-ventura/i-aint-got-time-to-bleed" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "honesty", "slug": "honesty", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/honesty" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#I_Ain't_Got_Time_To_Bleed_(1999)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:49" }, { "id": "6f7d218c-650a-4fa2-9647-6906c6fc0a11", "slug": "people-are-always", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jesse-ventura/i-aint-got-time-to-bleed/people-are-always", "text": "People are always shocked when they ask me what I plan to do about crime as governor and my answer comes back as \"Nothing!\" Does the issue of crime need to be addressed? You bet it does. But, just as with many other social issues, I don't think that legislation is the most effective arena in which to fight crime. We already have tons of laws on the books. Most of those laws would work more effectively if we just enforced them better. As governor, there isn't a lot I can do beyond that to crack down on crime. Law enforcement is really a local issue. It's the cops' job to tighten down on criminals. Politicians always like to say \"I'm gonna fight crime!\" because it makes them sound great and gets them votes. But what can a politician do to fight crime?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jesse Ventura", "slug": "jesse-ventura", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jesse-ventura" }, "book": { "title": "I Ain't Got Time to Bleed", "slug": "i-aint-got-time-to-bleed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jesse-ventura/i-aint-got-time-to-bleed" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "crime", "slug": "crime", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/crime" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#I_Ain't_Got_Time_To_Bleed_(1999)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:49" }, { "id": "3142dd4e-77b8-419f-b805-815de1b8ac1c", "slug": "whenever-you-take", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jesse-ventura/i-aint-got-time-to-bleed/whenever-you-take", "text": "Whenever you take a stand on an issue, people will line up around the block to kick your ass over it. By having an opinion, you make yourself a target. Why do you think Congress likes to hide behind closed doors at decision-making time? I put all the city council meetings on public TV, over the good old boys' objections. Exposure creates an educated, involved public, which isn't in the interests of the old-boy network.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jesse Ventura", "slug": "jesse-ventura", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jesse-ventura" }, "book": { "title": "I Ain't Got Time to Bleed", "slug": "i-aint-got-time-to-bleed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jesse-ventura/i-aint-got-time-to-bleed" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#I_Ain't_Got_Time_To_Bleed_(1999)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:49" }, { "id": "a12c69ed-08c4-4c02-97be-5b72dc4b43a1", "slug": "to-me-politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-moorcock/the-steel-tsar/to-me-politics", "text": "“To me politics is just a matter of getting the engineering right. If you have a machine which functions properly without much attention, then it’s obviously a good machine. That’s what politics should be about. And if the machine has simple working parts which any layman can understand, then it’s, as it were, your democratic machine. Am I right or am I wrong?” “Crazy,” said Makhno, and scratched his nose. “What?” “You’re not right or wrong. You’re crazy.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Michael Moorcock", "slug": "michael-moorcock", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-moorcock" }, "book": { "title": "The Steel Tsar", "slug": "the-steel-tsar", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-moorcock/the-steel-tsar" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 342, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michael_Moorcock#The_Steel_Tsar_(1981)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:44" }, { "id": "57a1128a-c5df-4f6a-9026-310a9172bc66", "slug": "there-is-less", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-moorcock/the-land-leviathan/there-is-less", "text": "There is less danger, gentlemen, in living according to a set of high moral principles than most politicians believe.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Michael Moorcock", "slug": "michael-moorcock", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-moorcock" }, "book": { "title": "The Land Leviathan", "slug": "the-land-leviathan", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-moorcock/the-land-leviathan" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 214, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "morality", "slug": "morality", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/morality" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michael_Moorcock#The_Land_Leviathan_(1974)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:43" }, { "id": "4c58e516-1211-4cc1-a711-fd3a8e3ac160", "slug": "as-i-suggested", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-moorcock/the-warlord-of-the-air/as-i-suggested", "text": "As I suggested to John Major (a British Prime Minister) when he told us that socialism was dead, he should not be too triumphant. After all, until his predecessor Mrs Thatcher revived it, we thought feudalism pretty much over and done with, too.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Michael Moorcock", "slug": "michael-moorcock", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-moorcock" }, "book": { "title": "The Warlord of the Air", "slug": "the-warlord-of-the-air", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-moorcock/the-warlord-of-the-air" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michael_Moorcock#The_Warlord_of_the_Air_(1971)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:42" }, { "id": "1f821230-b8f0-4ecf-98dc-38c73ccabbd6", "slug": "our-political-system", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-derbyshire/we-are-doomed/our-political-system", "text": "Our political system is now run by the Big People for their own interests. If they ever deign to notice the Little People, it is with disdain and contempt.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Derbyshire", "slug": "john-derbyshire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-derbyshire" }, "book": { "title": "We Are Doomed", "slug": "we-are-doomed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-derbyshire/we-are-doomed" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Derbyshire#We_Are_Doomed:_Reclaiming_Conservative_Pessimism_(2009)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:28" }, { "id": "da391b4a-1d67-4810-a644-f3b58231d139", "slug": "we-the-most", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lawrence-lessig/free-culture/we-the-most", "text": "We, the most powerful democracy in the world, have developed a strong norm against talking about politics. It's fine to talk about politics with people you agree with. But it is rude to argue about politics with people you disagree with. Political discourse becomes isolated, and isolated discourse becomes more extreme. We say what our friends want to hear, and hear very little beyond what our friends say.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Lawrence Lessig", "slug": "lawrence-lessig", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lawrence-lessig" }, "book": { "title": "Free Culture", "slug": "free-culture", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lawrence-lessig/free-culture" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "conversation", "slug": "conversation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/conversation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lawrence_Lessig#Free_Culture_(2004)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:26" }, { "id": "fc690c14-425d-40c2-b81e-6b6cd6ad36cc", "slug": "when-it-has", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lawrence-lessig/free-culture/when-it-has", "text": "When it has become silly to suppose that the role of our government should be to \"seek balance,\" then count me with the silly, for that means that this has become quite serious indeed. If it should be obvious to everyone that the government does not seek balance, that the government is simply the tool of the most powerful lobbyists, that the idea of holding the government to a different standard is absurd, that the idea of demanding of the government that it speak truth and not lies is just naïve, then who have we, the most powerful democracy in the world, become?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Lawrence Lessig", "slug": "lawrence-lessig", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lawrence-lessig" }, "book": { "title": "Free Culture", "slug": "free-culture", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lawrence-lessig/free-culture" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "democracy", "slug": "democracy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/democracy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lawrence_Lessig#Free_Culture_(2004)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:25" }, { "id": "2477946e-5e84-436a-a3d7-c5c3c08606bf", "slug": "it-might-be-crazy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lawrence-lessig/free-culture/it-might-be-crazy", "text": "It might be crazy to expect a high government official to speak the truth. It might be crazy to believe that government policy will be something more than the handmaiden of the most powerful interests. It might be crazy to argue that we should preserve a tradition that has been part of our tradition for most of our history — free culture. If this is crazy, then let there be more crazies. Soon.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Lawrence Lessig", "slug": "lawrence-lessig", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lawrence-lessig" }, "book": { "title": "Free Culture", "slug": "free-culture", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lawrence-lessig/free-culture" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "truth", "slug": "truth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/truth" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lawrence_Lessig#Free_Culture_(2004)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:25" }, { "id": "dd911a3f-350d-4f9f-b6ff-60f69619e9e0", "slug": "political-commitment-isnt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/samuel-r-delany/triton/political-commitment-isnt", "text": "Political commitment isn’t a perimeter, Sam; it’s a parameter. Don’t you ever wonder? Don’t you ever doubt?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Samuel R. Delany", "slug": "samuel-r-delany", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/samuel-r-delany" }, "book": { "title": "Triton", "slug": "triton", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/samuel-r-delany/triton" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 140, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Samuel_R._Delany#Triton_(1976)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:19" }, { "id": "f0482b9f-e6b5-4c87-92b0-2341d93173f6", "slug": "losing-power-utterly", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/fred-hoyle/the-black-cloud/losing-power-utterly", "text": "Losing power, utterly and completely, is the most dreadful prospect that a politician can think of. It overshadows everything else.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Fred Hoyle", "slug": "fred-hoyle", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/fred-hoyle" }, "book": { "title": "The Black Cloud", "slug": "the-black-cloud", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/fred-hoyle/the-black-cloud" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 167, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fred_Hoyle#The_Black_Cloud_(1957)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:09" }, { "id": "e7fa51f1-1cba-4e86-87de-d95d2c0765e4", "slug": "you-havent-very", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/fred-hoyle/the-black-cloud/you-havent-very", "text": "“You haven’t very much respect for my profession, have you, Professor Kingsley?” “Since it is you who wish for frankness, I will tell you that I have not. I regard politicians rather as I regard the instruments on the dashboard of my car. They tell me what is going on in the engine of state, but they don’t control it.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Fred Hoyle", "slug": "fred-hoyle", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/fred-hoyle" }, "book": { "title": "The Black Cloud", "slug": "the-black-cloud", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/fred-hoyle/the-black-cloud" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 70, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fred_Hoyle#The_Black_Cloud_(1957)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:08" }, { "id": "62e80b7a-5f7f-4f14-8d87-aa8251824bb1", "slug": "not-everyone-views", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/fred-hoyle/the-black-cloud/not-everyone-views", "text": "“Not everyone views the government with quite the same disrespect that you do.” “No, more’s the pity.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Fred Hoyle", "slug": "fred-hoyle", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/fred-hoyle" }, "book": { "title": "The Black Cloud", "slug": "the-black-cloud", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/fred-hoyle/the-black-cloud" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 71, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fred_Hoyle#The_Black_Cloud_(1957)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:08" }, { "id": "112f084e-c4f5-4a97-92f2-7805d3bc2e34", "slug": "ifs-and-buts", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/fred-hoyle/the-black-cloud/ifs-and-buts", "text": "Ifs and buts are the stuff of politics, Mr. Parkinson. As a scientist I am concerned with facts not with motives, suspicions, and airy-fairy nothingness.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Fred Hoyle", "slug": "fred-hoyle", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/fred-hoyle" }, "book": { "title": "The Black Cloud", "slug": "the-black-cloud", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/fred-hoyle/the-black-cloud" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 70, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "science", "slug": "science", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/science" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fred_Hoyle#The_Black_Cloud_(1957)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:08" }, { "id": "a97708f3-092f-4d3f-a310-da1abecd663e", "slug": "you-ministers-go-on-shuffling", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/the-prime-minister/you-ministers-go-on-shuffling", "text": "You Ministers go on shuffling the old cards till they are so worn out and dirty that one can hardly tell the pips on them.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Anthony Trollope", "slug": "anthony-trollope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope" }, "book": { "title": "The Prime Minister", "slug": "the-prime-minister", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/the-prime-minister" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anthony_Trollope#The_Prime_Minister_(1876)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:02" }, { "id": "98660978-213d-490b-936c-4611724133b6", "slug": "their-support-was", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/the-prime-minister/their-support-was", "text": "Their support was not needed, therefore they were not courted.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Anthony Trollope", "slug": "anthony-trollope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope" }, "book": { "title": "The Prime Minister", "slug": "the-prime-minister", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/the-prime-minister" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anthony_Trollope#The_Prime_Minister_(1876)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:02" }, { "id": "37ec050b-858c-458c-97a8-5f5aadbc9957", "slug": "when-any-body", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/the-dukes-children/when-any-body", "text": "When any body of statesmen make public asservations by one or various voices, that there is no discord among them, not a dissentient voice on any subject, people are apt to suppose that they cannot hang together much longer.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Anthony Trollope", "slug": "anthony-trollope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope" }, "book": { "title": "The Duke's Children", "slug": "the-dukes-children", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/the-dukes-children" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "irony", "slug": "irony", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/irony" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anthony_Trollope#The_Duke's_Children_(1879)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:02" }, { "id": "26448b47-9278-41a9-a04c-e066615e510c", "slug": "one-wants-in-a-prime", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/the-prime-minister/one-wants-in-a-prime", "text": "One wants in a Prime Minister a good many things, but not very great things. He should be clever but need not be a genius; he should be conscientious but by no means strait-laced; he should be cautious but never timid, bold but never venturesome; he should have a good digestion, genial manners, and, above all, a thick skin. These are the gifts we want, but we can't always get them, and have to do without them.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Anthony Trollope", "slug": "anthony-trollope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope" }, "book": { "title": "The Prime Minister", "slug": "the-prime-minister", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/the-prime-minister" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "leadership", "slug": "leadership", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/leadership" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anthony_Trollope#The_Prime_Minister_(1876)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:02" }, { "id": "fe4d0eea-7036-4abd-b8a0-25be10b24a44", "slug": "had-some-inscrutable", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/the-prime-minister/had-some-inscrutable", "text": "Had some inscrutable decree of fate ordained and made it certain, with a certainty not to be disturbed, that no candidate could be returned to Parliament who would not assert the earth to be triangular, there would rise immediately a clamorous assertion of triangularity among political aspirants. The test would be innocent. Candidates have swallowed, and daily do swallow, many a worse one. As might be this doctrine of a great triangle, so is the doctrine of Home Rule. Why is a gentleman of property to be kept out in the cold by some O'Mullins because he will not mutter an unmeaning shibboleth? \"Triangular? Yes, or lozenge-shaped, if you please; but, gentleman, I am the man for Tipperary.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Anthony Trollope", "slug": "anthony-trollope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope" }, "book": { "title": "The Prime Minister", "slug": "the-prime-minister", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/the-prime-minister" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "hypocrisy", "slug": "hypocrisy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hypocrisy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anthony_Trollope#The_Prime_Minister_(1876)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:01" }, { "id": "d11efb8e-031c-4116-9839-76a94a7a9e60", "slug": "it-has-been", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-finn/it-has-been", "text": "It has been the great fault of our politicians that they have all wanted to do something.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Anthony Trollope", "slug": "anthony-trollope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope" }, "book": { "title": "Phineas Finn", "slug": "phineas-finn", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-finn" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "irony", "slug": "irony", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/irony" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anthony_Trollope#Phineas_Finn_(1869)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:01" }, { "id": "9d15ff86-f648-4fa8-a153-9276a88d71ae", "slug": "aid-from-heaven", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/the-prime-minister/aid-from-heaven", "text": "\"Aid from heaven you may have,\" he said, \"by saying your prayers; and I don't doubt you ask for this and all other things generally. But an angel won't come to tell you who ought to be Chancellor of the Exchequer.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Anthony Trollope", "slug": "anthony-trollope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope" }, "book": { "title": "The Prime Minister", "slug": "the-prime-minister", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/the-prime-minister" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "religion", "slug": "religion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/religion" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anthony_Trollope#The_Prime_Minister_(1876)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:01" }, { "id": "49d6db08-1051-4a17-9ce7-9d6943d86cef", "slug": "your-man-with", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/the-prime-minister/your-man-with", "text": "Your man with a thin skin, a vehement ambition, a scrupulous conscience, and a sanguine desire for rapid improvement is never a happy, and seldom a fortunate politician.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Anthony Trollope", "slug": "anthony-trollope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope" }, "book": { "title": "The Prime Minister", "slug": "the-prime-minister", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/the-prime-minister" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "conscience", "slug": "conscience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/conscience" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anthony_Trollope#The_Prime_Minister_(1876)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:01" }, { "id": "8977e773-9a5c-4861-bdeb-1319ea75e7ff", "slug": "yeah-i-said", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-penn-warren/all-the-kings-men/yeah-i-said", "text": "\"Yeah,\" I said, \"I heard the speech. But they don't give a damn about that. Hell, make 'em cry, make 'em laugh, make 'em think you're their weak erring pal, or make 'em think you're God-Almighty. Or make 'em mad. Even mad at you. Just stir 'em up, it doesn't matter how or why, and they'll love you and come back for more. Pinch 'em in the soft place. They aren't alive, most of 'em, and haven't been alive in twenty years. Hell, their wives have lost their teeth and their shape, and likker won't set on their stomachs, and they don't believe in God, so it's up to you to give 'em something to stir 'em up and make 'em feel alive again. Just for half an hour. That's what they come for. Tell 'em anything. But for Sweet Jesus' sake don't try to improve their minds.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Robert Penn Warren", "slug": "robert-penn-warren", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-penn-warren" }, "book": { "title": "All the King's Men", "slug": "all-the-kings-men", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-penn-warren/all-the-kings-men" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "manipulation", "slug": "manipulation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/manipulation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/All_the_King's_Men#Chapter_2", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:58" }, { "id": "b0cc99f9-b1cc-4868-b3ed-77001b5d833e", "slug": "jeff-didnt-blame", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/peter-f-hamilton/misspent-youth/jeff-didnt-blame", "text": "Jeff didn’t blame Dr. Sperber, but he’d been around long enough to know how the information would be used, twisted, sanitized, controlled, released in a way that left Brussels devoid of responsibility. That was the way of all government and politicians; it was never their fault.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Peter F. Hamilton", "slug": "peter-f-hamilton", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/peter-f-hamilton" }, "book": { "title": "Misspent Youth", "slug": "misspent-youth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/peter-f-hamilton/misspent-youth" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 396, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "responsibility", "slug": "responsibility", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/responsibility" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Peter_F._Hamilton#Misspent_Youth_(2002)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:56" }, { "id": "a5a3ba93-dfe9-4a3d-9649-1506caeadae6", "slug": "i-look-young", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/peter-f-hamilton/misspent-youth/i-look-young", "text": "“I look young, almost as young as you lot; but the real difference between us is cynicism. You don’t have any, while I’ve got a ton of it.” “I’m cynical, Philip protested. “I don’t believe a word politicians say.” “That’s not cynicism,” Sophie said. “That’s just common sense.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Peter F. Hamilton", "slug": "peter-f-hamilton", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/peter-f-hamilton" }, "book": { "title": "Misspent Youth", "slug": "misspent-youth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/peter-f-hamilton/misspent-youth" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 248, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "cynicism", "slug": "cynicism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/cynicism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Peter_F._Hamilton#Misspent_Youth_(2002)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:56" }, { "id": "9ee9aa77-68c8-4dbd-95e7-b3cee960f766", "slug": "they-lied-of-course", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/peter-f-hamilton/misspent-youth/they-lied-of-course", "text": "“They lied!” “Of course they lied. They’re politicians, it’s what they do.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Peter F. Hamilton", "slug": "peter-f-hamilton", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/peter-f-hamilton" }, "book": { "title": "Misspent Youth", "slug": "misspent-youth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/peter-f-hamilton/misspent-youth" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 402, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "lies", "slug": "lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/lies" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Peter_F._Hamilton#Misspent_Youth_(2002)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:56" }, { "id": "5f8be589-59bb-4826-b3ba-fb438482d712", "slug": "politicians-theyre-all", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/peter-f-hamilton/misspent-youth/politicians-theyre-all", "text": "Politicians, they’re all as bad as each other.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Peter F. Hamilton", "slug": "peter-f-hamilton", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/peter-f-hamilton" }, "book": { "title": "Misspent Youth", "slug": "misspent-youth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/peter-f-hamilton/misspent-youth" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 348, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Peter_F._Hamilton#Misspent_Youth_(2002)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:56" }, { "id": "ccf9e308-a046-40ed-ad89-561ad336c1f0", "slug": "any-rich-unprogressive", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/fscott-fitzgerald/this-side-of-paradise/any-rich-unprogressive", "text": "Any rich, unprogressive old party with that particularly grasping, acquisitive form of mentality known as financial genius can own a paper that is the intellectual meat and drink of thousands of tired, hurried men, men too involved in the business of modern living to swallow anything but predigested food. For two cents the voter buys his politics, prejudices, and philosophy.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "F.Scott Fitzgerald", "slug": "fscott-fitzgerald", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/fscott-fitzgerald" }, "book": { "title": "This Side of Paradise", "slug": "this-side-of-paradise", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/fscott-fitzgerald/this-side-of-paradise" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "money", "slug": "money", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/money" }, { "name": "media", "slug": "media", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/media" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/F._Scott_Fitzgerald#This_Side_of_Paradise_(1920)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:50" }, { "id": "9cb02b43-574a-4ab9-8e9b-30e238f13ccc", "slug": "subsidiarity-is-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jane-jacobs/dark-age-ahead/subsidiarity-is-the", "text": "Subsidiarity is the principle that government works best — most responsibly and responsively — when it is closest to the people it serves and the needs it addresses. Fiscal accountability is the principle that institutions collecting and disbursing taxes work most responsibly when they are transparent to those providing the money.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jane Jacobs", "slug": "jane-jacobs", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jane-jacobs" }, "book": { "title": "Dark Age Ahead", "slug": "dark-age-ahead", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jane-jacobs/dark-age-ahead" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "the state", "slug": "the-state", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/the-state" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jane_Jacobs#Dark_Age_Ahead_(2004)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:48" }, { "id": "bb4a8a5a-8eca-4dd6-8c31-5126aa4c88fc", "slug": "it-is-an-essential", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/wilhelm-reich/the-mass-psychology-of-fascism/it-is-an-essential", "text": "It is an essential part of our social tragedy that people, like farmers, the industrial workers, the medical profession, etc., influence the social process not only by their work, but also — and even predominantly — by political ideologies. For political activity hampers objective, rational activity; it splits professional organizations into warring ideological groups; it disorganizes the industrial workers: it restricts the work of the physician and harms the patients, etc. In brief, political activity prevents precisely what it pretends to achieve: peace, work, security, international cooperation, objective expression of opinion, freedom of belief, etc.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Wilhelm Reich", "slug": "wilhelm-reich", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/wilhelm-reich" }, "book": { "title": "The Mass Psychology of Fascism", "slug": "the-mass-psychology-of-fascism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/wilhelm-reich/the-mass-psychology-of-fascism" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "work", "slug": "work", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/work" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Reich#Ch._10_:_Work_Democracy", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:34" }, { "id": "ab7cf1a6-fa29-43a6-acc0-e12b6970dc8f", "slug": "political-irrationalism-which", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/wilhelm-reich/the-mass-psychology-of-fascism/political-irrationalism-which", "text": "Political irrationalism which infests, deforms and destroys our lives, is — in the strictly psychiatric sense — a perversion of social life, caused by the ostracizing of the natural life functions and by their exclusion from the determination of social life.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Wilhelm Reich", "slug": "wilhelm-reich", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/wilhelm-reich" }, "book": { "title": "The Mass Psychology of Fascism", "slug": "the-mass-psychology-of-fascism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/wilhelm-reich/the-mass-psychology-of-fascism" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Reich#Ch._10_:_Work_Democracy", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:34" }, { "id": "7e6d3708-dd13-4ba5-b6f0-254240cb71dd", "slug": "for-a-decade", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/wilhelm-reich/the-mass-psychology-of-fascism/for-a-decade", "text": "For a decade, the politics of the European dictators was unrivalled. In order to comprehend the essence of politics, one only has to remember that it was a Hitler who, for many years, was able to keep the world breathless. Hitler as a political genius was a magnificent unmasking of the essence of politics in general. With Hitler, politics reached the peak of its development. We know what were its fruits and what was the reaction of the world. In brief, I believe that the twentieth century, with its gigantic catastrophes, ushers in a new social era, an era free of politics. It remains to be seen what part politics will play in the eradication of the political emotional plague and what part the consciously organized functions of love, work and knowledge.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Wilhelm Reich", "slug": "wilhelm-reich", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/wilhelm-reich" }, "book": { "title": "The Mass Psychology of Fascism", "slug": "the-mass-psychology-of-fascism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/wilhelm-reich/the-mass-psychology-of-fascism" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Reich#Ch._10_:_Work_Democracy", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:34" }, { "id": "6b232374-60a0-492c-99cf-a7983cd71984", "slug": "political-ideological-systems", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/wilhelm-reich/the-mass-psychology-of-fascism/political-ideological-systems", "text": "Political ideological systems are based on conceptions of the natural life process. They may further or hinder the natural life process. They themselves, however, do not function at the roots of the social process. They may be democratic; in that case they further the natural human life process. They may be authoritarian and dictatorial; in that case they are its deadly enemy.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Wilhelm Reich", "slug": "wilhelm-reich", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/wilhelm-reich" }, "book": { "title": "The Mass Psychology of Fascism", "slug": "the-mass-psychology-of-fascism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/wilhelm-reich/the-mass-psychology-of-fascism" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "democracy", "slug": "democracy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/democracy" }, { "name": "tyranny", "slug": "tyranny", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/tyranny" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Reich#Ch._10_:_Work_Democracy", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:34" }, { "id": "649c9e20-ef55-40f1-b7d5-3de0c4aab606", "slug": "work-democracy-adds-a-decisive", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/wilhelm-reich/the-mass-psychology-of-fascism/work-democracy-adds-a-decisive", "text": "Work-democracy adds a decisive piece of knowledge to the scope of ideas related to freedom. The masses of people who work and bear the burden of social existence on their shoulders neither are conscious of their social responsibility nor are they capable of assuming the responsibility for their own freedom. This is the result of the century-long suppression of rational thinking, the natural functions of love, and scientific comprehension of the living. Everything related to the emotional plague in social life can be traced back to this incapacity and lack of consciousness. It is work-democracy's contention that, by its very nature, politics is and has to be unscientific, i.e., that it is an expression of human helplessness, poverty, and suppression.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Wilhelm Reich", "slug": "wilhelm-reich", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/wilhelm-reich" }, "book": { "title": "The Mass Psychology of Fascism", "slug": "the-mass-psychology-of-fascism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/wilhelm-reich/the-mass-psychology-of-fascism" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "responsibility", "slug": "responsibility", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/responsibility" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Reich#Ch._10_:_Work_Democracy", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:34" }, { "id": "45b03356-f996-4811-af23-769afa5672e6", "slug": "the-fact-that", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/wilhelm-reich/the-mass-psychology-of-fascism/the-fact-that", "text": "The fact that political ideologies are tangible realities is not a proof of their vitally necessary character. The bubonic plague was an extraordinarily powerful social reality, but no one would have regarded it as vitally necessary.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Wilhelm Reich", "slug": "wilhelm-reich", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/wilhelm-reich" }, "book": { "title": "The Mass Psychology of Fascism", "slug": "the-mass-psychology-of-fascism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/wilhelm-reich/the-mass-psychology-of-fascism" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "ideas", "slug": "ideas", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/ideas" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Reich#Ch._10_:_Work_Democracy", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:34" }, { "id": "0e153680-041d-4fdf-b744-8e7c955f6d86", "slug": "to-make-a-harsh", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/paul-r-krugman/pop-internationalism/to-make-a-harsh", "text": "To make a harsh but not entirely unjustified analogy, a government wedded to the ideology of competitiveness is as unlikely to make good economic policy as a government committed to creationism is to make good science policy, even in areas that have no direct relationship to the theory of evolution.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Paul R. Krugman", "slug": "paul-r-krugman", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/paul-r-krugman" }, "book": { "title": "Pop Internationalism", "slug": "pop-internationalism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/paul-r-krugman/pop-internationalism" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "economy", "slug": "economy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/economy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Paul_Krugman#Pop_Internationalism_(1996)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:17" }, { "id": "97eaa27d-5e0b-4e98-aa43-33195d613aa7", "slug": "youre-a-fool", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/norman-mailer/the-naked-and-the-dead/youre-a-fool", "text": "You're a fool if you don't realize this is going to be the reactionary's century, perhaps their thousand-year reign. It's the one thing Hitler said which wasn't completely hysterical.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Norman Mailer", "slug": "norman-mailer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/norman-mailer" }, "book": { "title": "The Naked and the Dead", "slug": "the-naked-and-the-dead", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/norman-mailer/the-naked-and-the-dead" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Norman_Mailer#The_Naked_and_the_Dead_(1948)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:12" }, { "id": "7c8727f1-490d-4791-bed6-0eac6bbc2ace", "slug": "moreover-as-america", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/zbigniew-brzezinski/the-grand-chessboard/moreover-as-america", "text": "Moreover, as America becomes an increasingly multi-cultural society, it may find it more difficult to fashion a consensus on foreign policy issues, except in the circumstance of a truly massive and widely perceived direct external threat.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Zbigniew Brzezinski", "slug": "zbigniew-brzezinski", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/zbigniew-brzezinski" }, "book": { "title": "The Grand Chessboard", "slug": "the-grand-chessboard", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/zbigniew-brzezinski/the-grand-chessboard" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 211, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "America", "slug": "america", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/america" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Zbigniew_Brzezinski#The_Grand_Chessboard_(1997)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:08" }, { "id": "9feafabc-0b9f-4d10-a7c3-a8858084ff6b", "slug": "there-is-an-element", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/zbigniew-brzezinski/the-grand-chessboard/there-is-an-element", "text": "There is an element of delusional obsession in the French political elite's preoccupation with the notion that France is still a global power.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Zbigniew Brzezinski", "slug": "zbigniew-brzezinski", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/zbigniew-brzezinski" }, "book": { "title": "The Grand Chessboard", "slug": "the-grand-chessboard", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/zbigniew-brzezinski/the-grand-chessboard" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 62, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "pride", "slug": "pride", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pride" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Zbigniew_Brzezinski#The_Grand_Chessboard_(1997)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:07" }, { "id": "4ea77fde-6411-455c-a6d4-7d08f9835739", "slug": "the-dynamic-character", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/zbigniew-brzezinski/the-grand-chessboard/the-dynamic-character", "text": "The dynamic character of China's nonstatist economic transformation, including its social openness to the rest of the world, is not mutually compatible in the long run with a relatively closed and bureaucratically rigid Communist dictatorship.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Zbigniew Brzezinski", "slug": "zbigniew-brzezinski", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/zbigniew-brzezinski" }, "book": { "title": "The Grand Chessboard", "slug": "the-grand-chessboard", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/zbigniew-brzezinski/the-grand-chessboard" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 161, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Zbigniew_Brzezinski#The_Grand_Chessboard_(1997)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:07" }, { "id": "054d1d44-5ee2-41ae-aaa2-29dc93e8f61a", "slug": "fortunately-for-america", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/zbigniew-brzezinski/the-grand-chessboard/fortunately-for-america", "text": "Fortunately for America, Eurasia is too big to be politically one. Eurasia is thus the chessboard on which the struggle for global primacy continues to be played.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Zbigniew Brzezinski", "slug": "zbigniew-brzezinski", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/zbigniew-brzezinski" }, "book": { "title": "The Grand Chessboard", "slug": "the-grand-chessboard", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/zbigniew-brzezinski/the-grand-chessboard" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 31, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Zbigniew_Brzezinski#The_Grand_Chessboard_(1997)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:07" }, { "id": "07d4751e-4948-4c54-874c-21449a453d19", "slug": "he-was-a-hard", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ursula-k-le-guin/the-left-hand-of-darkness/he-was-a-hard", "text": "He was a hard shrewd jovial politician, whose acts of kindness served his interest and whose interest was himself. His type is panhuman. I had met him on Earth, and on Hain, and on Ollul. I expect to meet him in Hell.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ursula K. Le Guin", "slug": "ursula-k-le-guin", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ursula-k-le-guin" }, "book": { "title": "The Left Hand of Darkness", "slug": "the-left-hand-of-darkness", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ursula-k-le-guin/the-left-hand-of-darkness" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 116, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "selfishness", "slug": "selfishness", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/selfishness" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ursula_K._Le_Guin#The_Left_Hand_of_Darkness_(1969)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:46:53" }, { "id": "ce91ed48-d695-4128-ae68-54ca5c3cb792", "slug": "the-feminist-movement", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/shulamith-firestone/the-dialectic-of-sex-the-case-for-feminist-revolution/the-feminist-movement", "text": "The feminist movement is the first to combine effectively the ‘personal’ with the ‘political’. It is developing a new way of relating, a new political style, one that will eventually reconcile the personal – always the feminine prerogative – with the public, with the ‘world outside’, to restore that world to its emotions, and literally to its senses.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Shulamith Firestone", "slug": "shulamith-firestone", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/shulamith-firestone" }, "book": { "title": "The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution", "slug": "the-dialectic-of-sex-the-case-for-feminist-revolution", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/shulamith-firestone/the-dialectic-of-sex-the-case-for-feminist-revolution" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 38, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "women", "slug": "women", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/women" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Shulamith_Firestone#Chapter_Two", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:46:38" }, { "id": "775ca6c7-a247-4c42-ac3e-34ef8cb8e494", "slug": "at-one-time", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dennis-miller/ranting-again/at-one-time", "text": "At one time, Washington actually meant something. But now, it's about as relevant as Bob Dylan's tuning fork.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Dennis Miller", "slug": "dennis-miller", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dennis-miller" }, "book": { "title": "Ranting Again", "slug": "ranting-again", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dennis-miller/ranting-again" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dennis_Miller#Ranting_Again", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:46:32" }, { "id": "8347bfa8-6e7c-4195-b736-ede905f02125", "slug": "it-was-a-programming", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams/mostly-harmless/it-was-a-programming", "text": "It was a programming technique that had been reverse-engineered from the sort of psychotic mental blocks that otherwise perfectly normal people had been observed invariably to develop when elected to high political office.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Douglas Adams", "slug": "douglas-adams", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams" }, "book": { "title": "Mostly Harmless", "slug": "mostly-harmless", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams/mostly-harmless" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker's_Guide_to_the_Galaxy#Chapter_8", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:46:29" }, { "id": "6d476f27-5fc5-4eae-b819-e8e77ae969e4", "slug": "the-major-problem-one", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams/the-restaurant-at-the-end-of-the-universe/the-major-problem-one", "text": "The major problem—one of the major problems, for there are several—one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them. To summarise: it is a well known fact that those people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it. To summarise the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. To summarise the summary of the summary: people are a problem.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Douglas Adams", "slug": "douglas-adams", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams" }, "book": { "title": "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe", "slug": "the-restaurant-at-the-end-of-the-universe", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams/the-restaurant-at-the-end-of-the-universe" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker's_Guide_to_the_Galaxy#Chapter_28", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:46:26" }, { "id": "c293a862-da7f-4e28-808b-b57cce60ed86", "slug": "the-president-is-always", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-primary-phase/the-president-is-always", "text": "The President is always a controversial choice, always an infuriating but fascinating character. His job is not to wield power but to draw attention away from it.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Douglas Adams", "slug": "douglas-adams", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams" }, "book": { "title": "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy: Primary Phase", "slug": "the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-primary-phase", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-primary-phase" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker's_Guide_to_the_Galaxy#Chapter_4", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:46:25" }, { "id": "237ddfa6-e5dd-42b9-9e92-69685e221e8a", "slug": "we-cannot-hope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/wendell-berry/citizenship-papers/we-cannot-hope", "text": "We cannot hope to be secure when our government has declared, by its readiness \"to act alone,\" its willingness to be everybody's enemy.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Wendell Berry", "slug": "wendell-berry", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/wendell-berry" }, "book": { "title": "Citizenship Papers", "slug": "citizenship-papers", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/wendell-berry/citizenship-papers" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "enemies", "slug": "enemies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/enemies" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wendell_Berry#A_Citizen's_Response", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:46:23" }, { "id": "ceef6e4f-2194-4e8b-9c9c-4bbf81da5c02", "slug": "he-was-born", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sinclair-lewis/elmer-gantry/he-was-born", "text": "He was born to be a senator. He never said anything important, and he always said it sonorously.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Sinclair Lewis", "slug": "sinclair-lewis", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sinclair-lewis" }, "book": { "title": "Elmer Gantry", "slug": "elmer-gantry", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sinclair-lewis/elmer-gantry" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sinclair_Lewis#Elmer_Gantry_(1927)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:46:02" }, { "id": "56d96633-6a3d-4c10-bcd3-0897b4de0af2", "slug": "thats-insane-lanier", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/greg-bear/eon/thats-insane-lanier", "text": "“That’s insane,” Lanier said. “Not very. It’s politics.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Greg Bear", "slug": "greg-bear", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/greg-bear" }, "book": { "title": "Eon", "slug": "eon", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/greg-bear/eon" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 153, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Greg_Bear#Eon_(1985)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:45:45" }, { "id": "42b6de1d-dc49-4616-8959-f62f298304fc", "slug": "i-can-understand", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/pd-james/a-taste-for-death/i-can-understand", "text": "I can understand the poor and stupid voting for Marxism or one of its fashionable variants. If you've no hope of being other than a slave, you may as well opt for the most efficient form of slavery.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "P.D. James", "slug": "pd-james", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/pd-james" }, "book": { "title": "A Taste for Death", "slug": "a-taste-for-death", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/pd-james/a-taste-for-death" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 412, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "slavery", "slug": "slavery", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/slavery" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/P._D._James#A_Taste_for_Death_(1986)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:45:41" }, { "id": "9bd132c4-952d-46e6-994e-e0357ef7675d", "slug": "since-war-is-not", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-von-clausewitz/on-war/since-war-is-not", "text": "Since war is not an act of senseless passion but is controlled by its political object, the value of this object must determine the sacrifices to be made for it in magnitude and also in duration. Once the expenditure of effort exceeds the value of the political object, the object must be renounced and peace must follow. We see then that if one side cannot completely disarm the other, the desire for peace on either side will rise and fall with the probability of further successes and the amount of effort these would require. If such incentives were of equal strength on both sides, the two would resolve their political disputes by meeting half way. If the incentive grows on one side, it should diminish on the other. '''Peace will result so long as their sum total is sufficient — though the side that feels the lesser urge for peace will naturally get the better bargain.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Carl von Clausewitz", "slug": "carl-von-clausewitz", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-von-clausewitz" }, "book": { "title": "On War", "slug": "on-war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-von-clausewitz/on-war" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 34, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "war", "slug": "war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/war" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "peace", "slug": "peace", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/peace" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_von_Clausewitz#Ch._2", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:45:37" }, { "id": "1eb97198-3514-47f9-8839-521686a7ced4", "slug": "our-discussion-has", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-von-clausewitz/on-war/our-discussion-has", "text": "Our discussion has shown that while in war many different roads can lead to the goal, to the attainment of the political object, fighting is the only possible means.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Carl von Clausewitz", "slug": "carl-von-clausewitz", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-von-clausewitz" }, "book": { "title": "On War", "slug": "on-war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-von-clausewitz/on-war" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "war", "slug": "war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/war" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_von_Clausewitz#(no_chapter_info)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:45:37" }, { "id": "174396c6-96ad-4c50-89b4-8070794cf24c", "slug": "whatever-the-explicit", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/judith-butler/the-force-of-nonviolence-an-ethico-political-bind/whatever-the-explicit", "text": "Whatever the explicit strategic or political aims of a war may be, they prove to be weak in comparison with its aims of destruction; what war destroys first are the very restrictions imposed on destructive license. If we can rightly speak about the unstated “aim” of war, it is neither primarily to alter the political landscape nor to establish a new political order, but rather to destroy the social basis of politics itself.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Judith Butler", "slug": "judith-butler", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/judith-butler" }, "book": { "title": "The Force of Nonviolence: An Ethico-Political Bind", "slug": "the-force-of-nonviolence-an-ethico-political-bind", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/judith-butler/the-force-of-nonviolence-an-ethico-political-bind" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 154, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "war", "slug": "war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/war" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Judith_Butler#Chapter_Four", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:45:35" }, { "id": "9ed89f85-7d6c-4370-88f5-6b59f8cfa3ee", "slug": "abuse-of-words", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joseph-joubert/the-notebooks-of-joseph-joubert/abuse-of-words", "text": "Abuse of words, foundation of ideology.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Joseph Joubert", "slug": "joseph-joubert", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joseph-joubert" }, "book": { "title": "The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert", "slug": "the-notebooks-of-joseph-joubert", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joseph-joubert/the-notebooks-of-joseph-joubert" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "language", "slug": "language", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/language" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joseph_Joubert#The_Notebooks_of_Joseph_Joubert_(1883)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:45:09" }, { "id": "5a621eec-6124-4520-b1d9-b498e8477dae", "slug": "in-political-institutions", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joseph-joubert/the-notebooks-of-joseph-joubert/in-political-institutions", "text": "In political institutions, almost everything we call an abuse was once a remedy.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Joseph Joubert", "slug": "joseph-joubert", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joseph-joubert" }, "book": { "title": "The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert", "slug": "the-notebooks-of-joseph-joubert", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joseph-joubert/the-notebooks-of-joseph-joubert" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joseph_Joubert#The_Notebooks_of_Joseph_Joubert_(1883)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:45:09" }, { "id": "5dccbf4e-8225-4a92-8a69-e5f736f72703", "slug": "much-advance-publicity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-de-mello/one-minute-wisdom/much-advance-publicity", "text": "Much advance publicity was made for the address the Master would deliver on The Destruction of the World and a large crowd gathered at the monastery grounds to hear him. The address was over in less than a minute. All he said was: \"These things will destroy the human race: politics without principle, progress without compassion, wealth without work, learning without silence, religion without fearlessness and worship without awareness.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Anthony De Mello", "slug": "anthony-de-mello", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-de-mello" }, "book": { "title": "One Minute Wisdom", "slug": "one-minute-wisdom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-de-mello/one-minute-wisdom" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "civilization", "slug": "civilization", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/civilization" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anthony_de_Mello#One_Minute_Wisdom_(1989)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:47" }, { "id": "6510e19f-ac41-4029-ac10-58b11761eb35", "slug": "the-triviality-of-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson/blue-mars/the-triviality-of-the", "text": "The triviality of the current scene usually put her off, but now she supposed that the politics of the moment always looked petty and stupid; only later did it take on the look of respectable statecraft, of immutable History.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Kim Stanley Robinson", "slug": "kim-stanley-robinson", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson" }, "book": { "title": "Blue Mars", "slug": "blue-mars", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson/blue-mars" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 563, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "history", "slug": "history", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/history" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kim_Stanley_Robinson#Blue_Mars_(1996)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:46" }, { "id": "c3d5a905-d0d9-4357-afd5-91db097469c6", "slug": "when-she-realized", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson/green-mars/when-she-realized", "text": "When she realized what she was doing she snorted in disgust, at herself and at the pervasiveness of politics—how it could infect everything if you let it.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Kim Stanley Robinson", "slug": "kim-stanley-robinson", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson" }, "book": { "title": "Green Mars", "slug": "green-mars", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson/green-mars" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 387, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kim_Stanley_Robinson#Green_Mars_(1993)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:45" }, { "id": "9866ee33-8323-4872-ae4f-2bc93fb56a16", "slug": "politics-in-its", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson/blue-mars/politics-in-its", "text": "Politics in its most common form: complaint. No one wanted to do it but everyone was happy to complain about it.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Kim Stanley Robinson", "slug": "kim-stanley-robinson", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson" }, "book": { "title": "Blue Mars", "slug": "blue-mars", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson/blue-mars" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 433, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kim_Stanley_Robinson#Blue_Mars_(1996)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:45" }, { "id": "0b9c6842-c962-4d23-aa97-2a072c72c4ca", "slug": "could-politics-ever", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson/blue-mars/could-politics-ever", "text": "Could politics ever be anything but politics, practical, cynical, compromised, ugly?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Kim Stanley Robinson", "slug": "kim-stanley-robinson", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson" }, "book": { "title": "Blue Mars", "slug": "blue-mars", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson/blue-mars" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 363, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kim_Stanley_Robinson#Blue_Mars_(1996)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:45" }, { "id": "c6b336e5-5c3b-4fa8-a6cd-d1f169191197", "slug": "some-of-them", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson/red-mars/some-of-them", "text": "Some of them defined ideology as an imaginary relationship to a real situation.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Kim Stanley Robinson", "slug": "kim-stanley-robinson", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson" }, "book": { "title": "Red Mars", "slug": "red-mars", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson/red-mars" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 460, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kim_Stanley_Robinson#Red_Mars_(1992)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:44" }, { "id": "65d09657-626d-497f-a3ed-466e21e83b1e", "slug": "it-was-a-mistake", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson/red-mars/it-was-a-mistake", "text": "It was a mistake to speak one’s mind at any time, unless it perfectly matched your political purpose; and it never did. Best to strip all statements of real content, this was a basic law of diplomacy.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Kim Stanley Robinson", "slug": "kim-stanley-robinson", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson" }, "book": { "title": "Red Mars", "slug": "red-mars", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson/red-mars" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 418, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "honesty", "slug": "honesty", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/honesty" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kim_Stanley_Robinson#Red_Mars_(1992)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:44" }, { "id": "2d4d6bd3-ef21-4682-a056-211c80b13f21", "slug": "friendship-was-just", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson/red-mars/friendship-was-just", "text": "Friendship was just diplomacy by other means, after all.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Kim Stanley Robinson", "slug": "kim-stanley-robinson", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson" }, "book": { "title": "Red Mars", "slug": "red-mars", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson/red-mars" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 432, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "friendship", "slug": "friendship", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/friendship" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kim_Stanley_Robinson#Red_Mars_(1992)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:44" }, { "id": "118af38d-7223-4f21-8f72-655610bc98d7", "slug": "they-were-so-ignorant", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson/red-mars/they-were-so-ignorant", "text": "They were so ignorant! Young men and women, educated very carefully to be apolitical, to be technicians who thought they disliked politics, making them putty in the hands of their rulers, just like always. It was appalling how stupid they were, really, and he could not help lashing into them.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Kim Stanley Robinson", "slug": "kim-stanley-robinson", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson" }, "book": { "title": "Red Mars", "slug": "red-mars", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson/red-mars" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 452, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "ignorance", "slug": "ignorance", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/ignorance" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kim_Stanley_Robinson#Red_Mars_(1992)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:44" }, { "id": "f90eeb00-1090-472d-8b50-65aea06e5e0e", "slug": "ridiculous-but-lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson/red-mars/ridiculous-but-lies", "text": "Ridiculous. But lies were what people wanted; that was politics.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Kim Stanley Robinson", "slug": "kim-stanley-robinson", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson" }, "book": { "title": "Red Mars", "slug": "red-mars", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kim-stanley-robinson/red-mars" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 7, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "lies", "slug": "lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/lies" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kim_Stanley_Robinson#Red_Mars_(1992)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:43" }, { "id": "b51f23fd-1aa9-4fbb-8aa6-2e193df32702", "slug": "the-man-of-system", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/adam-smith/the-theory-of-moral-sentiments/the-man-of-system", "text": "The man of system, on the contrary, is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamoured with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government, that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it. He goes on to establish it completely and in all its parts, without any regard either to the great interests, or to the strong prejudices which may oppose it. He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chess-board. He does not consider that the pieces upon the chess-board have no other principle of motion besides that which the hand impresses upon them; but that, in the great chess-board of human society, every single piece has a principle of motion of its own, altogether different from that which the legislature might choose to impress upon it. If those two principles coincide and act in the same direction, the game of human society will go on easily and harmoniously, and is very likely to be happy and successful. If they are opposite or different, the game will go on miserably, and the society must be at all times in the highest degree of disorder.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Adam Smith", "slug": "adam-smith", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/adam-smith" }, "book": { "title": "The Theory of Moral Sentiments", "slug": "the-theory-of-moral-sentiments", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/adam-smith/the-theory-of-moral-sentiments" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Adam_Smith#Part_VI", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:43" }, { "id": "0dfc3b9e-5fee-40b5-b80f-c0ed71f65881", "slug": "no-man-ever", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-silverberg/the-stochastic-man/no-man-ever", "text": "No man ever looked more like a President than Harding; it was his only qualification for the job, but it was enough to get him there.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Robert Silverberg", "slug": "robert-silverberg", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-silverberg" }, "book": { "title": "The Stochastic Man", "slug": "the-stochastic-man", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-silverberg/the-stochastic-man" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 55, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "appearances", "slug": "appearances", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/appearances" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Silverberg#The_Stochastic_Man_(1975)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:41" }, { "id": "6763fcec-bb7f-4f17-8ddc-2dd2ea5b639d", "slug": "political-theorists-tend", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-silverberg/hawksbill-station/political-theorists-tend", "text": "Political theorists tend to swallow their theories when forced back on pragmatic measures of survival.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Robert Silverberg", "slug": "robert-silverberg", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-silverberg" }, "book": { "title": "Hawksbill Station", "slug": "hawksbill-station", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-silverberg/hawksbill-station" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Silverberg#Hawksbill_Station_(1967)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:36" }, { "id": "8868d5a5-9a95-4103-8cd5-25cba2b9b356", "slug": "to-be-president", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-hoyer-updike/buchanan-dying/to-be-president", "text": "To be President of the United States, sir, is to act as advocate for a blind, venomous, and ungrateful client; still, one must make the best of the case, for the purposes of Providence.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Hoyer Updike", "slug": "john-hoyer-updike", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-hoyer-updike" }, "book": { "title": "Buchanan Dying", "slug": "buchanan-dying", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-hoyer-updike/buchanan-dying" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Updike#Buchanan_Dying_:_A_Play_(1974)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:28" }, { "id": "df9d8b30-2829-43f7-83e2-59e0c2c33c1d", "slug": "the-democratic-party", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/if-democrats-had-any-brains-theyd-be-republicans/the-democratic-party", "text": "The Democratic Party supports criminals and Islamic terrorists but has no sympathy for taxpayers.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ann Coulter", "slug": "ann-coulter", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter" }, "book": { "title": "If Democrats Had Any Brains, They'd Be Republicans", "slug": "if-democrats-had-any-brains-theyd-be-republicans", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/if-democrats-had-any-brains-theyd-be-republicans" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 112, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ann_Coulter#If_Democrats_Had_Any_Brains,_They'd_Be_Republicans_(2007)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:17" }, { "id": "b29014f8-b2d9-40d7-909f-f6251990440a", "slug": "all-those-angry", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/in-trump-we-trust/all-those-angry", "text": "All those angry, uneducated Trump supporters seemed to understand what his policies were. They figured it out by listening to him. It was only fair. No one listened to Trump, except the voters; and no one listened to the voters, except Trump.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ann Coulter", "slug": "ann-coulter", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter" }, "book": { "title": "In Trump We Trust", "slug": "in-trump-we-trust", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/in-trump-we-trust" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ann_Coulter#In_Trump_We_Trust:_E_Pluribus_Awesome!_(2016)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:17" }, { "id": "a88c93b2-c2d5-4155-96f6-cb3ebe6b7750", "slug": "everything-that-seems", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/in-trump-we-trust/everything-that-seems", "text": "Everything that seems like a disability with Trump always turns out to be an advantage. If we were in the laboratory, designing the perfect presidential candidate, it’s unlikely we would have produced a tasteless, publicity‐seeking, coarse, billionaire, reality TV star. Ha! Look at how wrong we were. It turns out, that is exactly what we needed.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ann Coulter", "slug": "ann-coulter", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter" }, "book": { "title": "In Trump We Trust", "slug": "in-trump-we-trust", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/in-trump-we-trust" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ann_Coulter#In_Trump_We_Trust:_E_Pluribus_Awesome!_(2016)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:17" }, { "id": "6e70cc92-68d4-4c3a-b19b-68bf48182506", "slug": "trump-won-because", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/in-trump-we-trust/trump-won-because", "text": "Trump won because he was forcing the media and politicians to talk about real problems facing the country, not recycling the same bromides the GOP has been pushing for the past thirty years. Those may be okay ideas for another time, but not when the country is about to be permanently transformed into a new country, know as \"California\" where all those zippy Republican ideas have less chance of becoming law than the wish list of the Wicca online community.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ann Coulter", "slug": "ann-coulter", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter" }, "book": { "title": "In Trump We Trust", "slug": "in-trump-we-trust", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/in-trump-we-trust" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ann_Coulter#In_Trump_We_Trust:_E_Pluribus_Awesome!_(2016)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:17" }, { "id": "664f4ddf-a8af-4a49-a297-bd756d19ca6a", "slug": "im-a-christian", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/if-democrats-had-any-brains-theyd-be-republicans/im-a-christian", "text": "I'm a Christian first, and a mean-spirited, bigoted conservative second, and don't you ever forget it.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ann Coulter", "slug": "ann-coulter", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter" }, "book": { "title": "If Democrats Had Any Brains, They'd Be Republicans", "slug": "if-democrats-had-any-brains-theyd-be-republicans", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/if-democrats-had-any-brains-theyd-be-republicans" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 77, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "Christianity", "slug": "christianity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/christianity" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ann_Coulter#If_Democrats_Had_Any_Brains,_They'd_Be_Republicans_(2007)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:17" }, { "id": "3662ce5e-fa3e-4d52-9b2a-8d4acfdad8c5", "slug": "our-book-is-genesis", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/godless/our-book-is-genesis", "text": "Our book is Genesis. Their book is Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, the original environmental hoax.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ann Coulter", "slug": "ann-coulter", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter" }, "book": { "title": "Godless", "slug": "godless", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/godless" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "ecology", "slug": "ecology", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/ecology" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ann_Coulter#Godless_:_The_Church_of_Liberalism_(2006)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:17" }, { "id": "2e2f5cd9-3ca9-4d30-b7f3-62c712fb925a", "slug": "uttering-lines-that", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/if-democrats-had-any-brains-theyd-be-republicans/uttering-lines-that", "text": "Uttering lines that send liberals into paroxysms of rage, otherwise known as \"citing facts,\" is the spice of life.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ann Coulter", "slug": "ann-coulter", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter" }, "book": { "title": "If Democrats Had Any Brains, They'd Be Republicans", "slug": "if-democrats-had-any-brains-theyd-be-republicans", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/if-democrats-had-any-brains-theyd-be-republicans" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 1, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ann_Coulter#If_Democrats_Had_Any_Brains,_They'd_Be_Republicans_(2007)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:17" }, { "id": "24c5b26b-cd4d-4ff3-accb-9e8b2725de44", "slug": "theres-nothing-trump", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/in-trump-we-trust/theres-nothing-trump", "text": "There's nothing Trump can do that won't be forgiven, except change his immigration policies.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ann Coulter", "slug": "ann-coulter", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter" }, "book": { "title": "In Trump We Trust", "slug": "in-trump-we-trust", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/in-trump-we-trust" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ann_Coulter#In_Trump_We_Trust:_E_Pluribus_Awesome!_(2016)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:17" }, { "id": "186504dd-fc54-4e66-9f46-8cdebac8115f", "slug": "if-you-want", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/in-trump-we-trust/if-you-want", "text": "If you want a conservative country, you need a conservative populace. Immigration is changing the country, and there will be no changing it back. If you don’t understand that, you are the enemy of any conservative undertaking.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ann Coulter", "slug": "ann-coulter", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter" }, "book": { "title": "In Trump We Trust", "slug": "in-trump-we-trust", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/in-trump-we-trust" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "change", "slug": "change", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/change" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ann_Coulter#In_Trump_We_Trust:_E_Pluribus_Awesome!_(2016)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:17" }, { "id": "097bdd48-3424-4376-b90f-b541fcb1a368", "slug": "like-the-democrats", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/how-to-talk-to-a-liberal-if-you-must/like-the-democrats", "text": "Like the Democrats, Playboy just wants to liberate women to behave like pigs, have sex without consequences, prance about naked, and abort children.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ann Coulter", "slug": "ann-coulter", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter" }, "book": { "title": "How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)", "slug": "how-to-talk-to-a-liberal-if-you-must", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/how-to-talk-to-a-liberal-if-you-must" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "sex", "slug": "sex", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/sex" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ann_Coulter#How_to_Talk_to_a_Liberal_(If_You_Must)_(2004)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:17" }, { "id": "05c8b9b3-0b74-41b8-a06f-0ade5714b751", "slug": "democrats-cannot-conceive", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/godless/democrats-cannot-conceive", "text": "Democrats cannot conceive of \"hate speech\" towards Christians because, in their eyes, Christians always deserve it.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ann Coulter", "slug": "ann-coulter", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter" }, "book": { "title": "Godless", "slug": "godless", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/godless" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 21, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "Christianity", "slug": "christianity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/christianity" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ann_Coulter#Godless_:_The_Church_of_Liberalism_(2006)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:17" }, { "id": "e348baa5-bfb9-4885-a304-1d8b8e78312b", "slug": "whenever-a-liberal", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/treason/whenever-a-liberal", "text": "Whenever a liberal begins a statement with \"I don't know which is more frightening,\" you know the answer is going to be pretty clear.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ann Coulter", "slug": "ann-coulter", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter" }, "book": { "title": "Treason", "slug": "treason", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/treason" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 6, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ann_Coulter#Treason_:_Liberal_Treachery_from_the_Cold_War_to_the_War_on_Terrorism_(2003)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:16" }, { "id": "cae765da-5c0a-4958-82c2-8c5546c9e9e6", "slug": "the-portrayal-of-senator", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/treason/the-portrayal-of-senator", "text": "The portrayal of Senator Joe McCarthy as a wild-eyed demagogue destroying innocent lives is sheer liberal hobgoblinism. Liberals weren't cowering in fear during the McCarthy era. They were systematically undermining the nation's ability to defend itself while waging a bellicose campaign of lies to blacken McCarthy's name. Everything you think you know about McCarthy is a hegemonic lie. Liberals denounced McCarthy because they were afraid of getting caught, so they fought back like animals to hide their own collaboration with a regime as evil as the Nazis.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ann Coulter", "slug": "ann-coulter", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter" }, "book": { "title": "Treason", "slug": "treason", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/treason" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "history", "slug": "history", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/history" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ann_Coulter#Treason_:_Liberal_Treachery_from_the_Cold_War_to_the_War_on_Terrorism_(2003)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:16" }, { "id": "90952ea6-1d1f-44a3-a74b-1e3207323985", "slug": "liberals-have-a-preternatural", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/treason/liberals-have-a-preternatural", "text": "Liberals have a preternatural gift for striking a position on the side of treason.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ann Coulter", "slug": "ann-coulter", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter" }, "book": { "title": "Treason", "slug": "treason", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/treason" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "betrayal", "slug": "betrayal", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/betrayal" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ann_Coulter#Treason_:_Liberal_Treachery_from_the_Cold_War_to_the_War_on_Terrorism_(2003)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:16" }, { "id": "77eea674-d8e6-45ab-ad04-b00499622549", "slug": "in-the-minds", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robertson-davies/the-cornish-trilogy/in-the-minds", "text": "In the minds of politicians, perhaps more than anywhere, the notion of a million dollars has this accordion-like ability to expand or contract; if they are disposing of it, the million is a pleasing sum, reflecting warmly upon themselves; if somebody else wants it, it becomes a figure of inordinate size, not to be compassed by the rational mind.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Robertson Davies", "slug": "robertson-davies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robertson-davies" }, "book": { "title": "The Cornish Trilogy", "slug": "the-cornish-trilogy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robertson-davies/the-cornish-trilogy" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "money", "slug": "money", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/money" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cornish_Trilogy#What's_Bred_in_the_Bone", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:16" }, { "id": "6bb92d47-5afe-4303-9556-46f41adbee8f", "slug": "while-consistently-rooting", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/treason/while-consistently-rooting", "text": "While consistently rooting against America, liberals have used a fictional event forged of their own hysteria — \"McCarthyism\" — to prevent Americans from ever asking the simple question: Do liberals love their country?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ann Coulter", "slug": "ann-coulter", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter" }, "book": { "title": "Treason", "slug": "treason", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/treason" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "patriotism", "slug": "patriotism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/patriotism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ann_Coulter#Treason_:_Liberal_Treachery_from_the_Cold_War_to_the_War_on_Terrorism_(2003)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:16" }, { "id": "5d8653b9-15e4-463b-bbe7-705f798db24e", "slug": "mccarthyism-means-pointing", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/treason/mccarthyism-means-pointing", "text": "\"McCarthyism\" means pointing out positions taken by liberals that are unpopular with the American people. As former President Bush said, \"Liberals do not like me talking about liberals.\" The reason they sob about the dark night of fascism under McCarthy is to prevent Americans from ever noticing that liberals consistently attack their own country.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ann Coulter", "slug": "ann-coulter", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter" }, "book": { "title": "Treason", "slug": "treason", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/treason" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ann_Coulter#Treason_:_Liberal_Treachery_from_the_Cold_War_to_the_War_on_Terrorism_(2003)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:16" }, { "id": "33dfbf71-4e27-4546-9e0a-18df113a2772", "slug": "liberals-chose-man", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/treason/liberals-chose-man", "text": "Liberals chose Man. Conservatives chose God.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ann Coulter", "slug": "ann-coulter", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter" }, "book": { "title": "Treason", "slug": "treason", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/treason" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "god", "slug": "god", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/god" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ann_Coulter#Treason_:_Liberal_Treachery_from_the_Cold_War_to_the_War_on_Terrorism_(2003)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:16" }, { "id": "1f56085c-ca44-4203-ad6d-ffe5bd432ede", "slug": "conservatives-believe-man", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/treason/conservatives-believe-man", "text": "Conservatives believe man was created in God's image, while liberals believe they are gods. All of the behavioral tics of the liberals proceed from their godless belief that they can murder the unborn because they, the liberals, are themselves gods. They try to forcibly create \"equality\" through affirmative action and wealth redistribution because they are gods. They flat-out lie, with no higher power to constrain them, because they are gods. They adore pornography and the mechanization of sex because man is just an animal, and they are gods. They revere the U.N. and not the U.S. because they aren't Americans — they are gods.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ann Coulter", "slug": "ann-coulter", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter" }, "book": { "title": "Treason", "slug": "treason", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ann-coulter/treason" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "religion", "slug": "religion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/religion" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ann_Coulter#Treason_:_Liberal_Treachery_from_the_Cold_War_to_the_War_on_Terrorism_(2003)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:16" }, { "id": "52528073-c91f-43d5-945e-c133661dfa1a", "slug": "the-imbecile-bourgeoisie", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joseph-conrad/the-secret-agent/the-imbecile-bourgeoisie", "text": "The imbecile bourgeoisie of this country make themselves the accomplices of the very people whose aim is to drive them out of their houses to starve in ditches. And they have the political power still, if they only had the sense to use it for their preservation.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Joseph Conrad", "slug": "joseph-conrad", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joseph-conrad" }, "book": { "title": "The Secret Agent", "slug": "the-secret-agent", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joseph-conrad/the-secret-agent" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joseph_Conrad#The_Secret_Agent_(1907)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:11" }, { "id": "c4f52ff8-394e-41dc-af0b-082ae93572b2", "slug": "theres-a-plot", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/philip-roth/the-plot-against-america/theres-a-plot", "text": "There’s a plot afoot all right, and I’ll gladly name the forces propelling it—hysteria, ignorance, malice, stupidity, hatred, and fear. What a repugnant spectacle our country has become! Falsehood, cruelty, and madness everywhere, and brute force in the wings waiting to finish us off.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Philip Roth", "slug": "philip-roth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/philip-roth" }, "book": { "title": "The Plot Against America", "slug": "the-plot-against-america", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/philip-roth/the-plot-against-america" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 315, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "fear", "slug": "fear", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/fear" }, { "name": "hatred", "slug": "hatred", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hatred" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Philip_Roth#The_Plot_Against_America_(2004)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:09" }, { "id": "42c54ea5-19da-4894-9591-4ef5206f5e55", "slug": "pseudo-events-do-of-course", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/daniel-j-boorstin/the-image/pseudo-events-do-of-course", "text": "Pseudo‑events do, of course, increase our illusion of grasp on the world, what some have called the American illusion of omnipotence. Perhaps, we come to think, the world’s problems can really be settled by “statements,” by “Summit” meetings, by a competition of “prestige,” by overshadowing images, and by political quiz shows.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Daniel J. Boorstin", "slug": "daniel-j-boorstin", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/daniel-j-boorstin" }, "book": { "title": "The Image", "slug": "the-image", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/daniel-j-boorstin/the-image" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 44, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "media", "slug": "media", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/media" }, { "name": "illusions", "slug": "illusions", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/illusions" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Daniel_J._Boorstin#The_Image:_A_Guide_to_Pseudo-Events_in_America_(1961)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:07" }, { "id": "f829c04a-941f-47f3-a60e-9757ff4bf71e", "slug": "what-happened-this", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/c-j-cherryh/downbelow-station/what-happened-this", "text": "What happened this far remote would have little political impact on Earth. What the visual media could not carry into living rooms, the general public could not long remain exercised about. Statistically, a majority of the electorate could not or did not read complicated issues; no pictures, no news; no news, no event.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "C. J. Cherryh", "slug": "c-j-cherryh", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/c-j-cherryh" }, "book": { "title": "Downbelow Station", "slug": "downbelow-station", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/c-j-cherryh/downbelow-station" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 118, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "media", "slug": "media", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/media" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/C._J._Cherryh#Downbelow_Station_(1981)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:06" }, { "id": "28279069-11b7-456d-bc27-4042cfb5b173", "slug": "one-rule-observed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thomas-more/utopia/one-rule-observed", "text": "One rule observed in their council is, never to debate a thing on the same day in which it is first proposed; for that is always referred to the next meeting, that so men may not rashly and in the heat of discourse engage themselves too soon, which might bias them so much that, instead of consulting the good of the public, they might rather study to support their first opinions, and by a perverse and preposterous sort of shame hazard their country rather than endanger their own reputation, or venture the being suspected to have wanted foresight in the expedients that they at first proposed; and therefore, to prevent this, they take care that they may rather be deliberate than sudden in their motions.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Thomas More", "slug": "thomas-more", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thomas-more" }, "book": { "title": "Utopia", "slug": "utopia", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thomas-more/utopia" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "choices", "slug": "choices", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/choices" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_More#Utopia_(1516)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:05" }, { "id": "ff13f60b-7e30-40bb-8ce0-4ca57b6f63ad", "slug": "dont-kid-yourself", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein/friday/dont-kid-yourself", "text": "Don’t kid yourself, Friday; knowing too much is a capital offense. In politics it always has been.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Robert A. Heinlein", "slug": "robert-a-heinlein", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein" }, "book": { "title": "Friday", "slug": "friday", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein/friday" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 327, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "knowledge", "slug": "knowledge", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/knowledge" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_A._Heinlein#Friday_(1982)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:02" }, { "id": "ad94511a-fd2d-4fee-8763-b35af59085de", "slug": "georges-i-dont", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein/friday/georges-i-dont", "text": "“Georges, I don’t know much about California politics—” “My dear, no one knows much about California politics, including California politicians.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Robert A. Heinlein", "slug": "robert-a-heinlein", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein" }, "book": { "title": "Friday", "slug": "friday", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein/friday" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 137, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_A._Heinlein#Friday_(1982)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:02" }, { "id": "7ec6063a-5389-474a-bdf2-67a412da33d1", "slug": "political-tags-such", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein/time-enough-for-love/political-tags-such", "text": "Political tags — such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, conservative, and so forth — are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire. The former are idealists acting from highest motives for the greatest good of the greatest number. The latter are surly curmudgeons, suspicious and lacking in altruism. But they are more comfortable neighbors than the other sort.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Robert A. Heinlein", "slug": "robert-a-heinlein", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein" }, "book": { "title": "Time Enough For Love", "slug": "time-enough-for-love", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein/time-enough-for-love" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 352, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "freedom", "slug": "freedom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/freedom" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Time_Enough_for_Love#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:01" }, { "id": "70cc9f12-236f-4e10-99a8-6fd6737086f9", "slug": "i-note-one", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein/the-moon-is-a-harsh-mistress/i-note-one", "text": "I note one proposal to make this Congress a two-house body. Excellent — the more impediments to legislation the better. But, instead of following tradition, I suggest one house of legislators, another whose single duty is to repeal laws. Let the legislators pass laws only with a two-thirds majority... while the repealers are able to cancel any law through a mere one-third minority. Preposterous? Think about it. If a bill is so poor that it cannot command two-thirds of your consents, is it not likely that it would make a poor law? And if a law is disliked by as many as one-third is it not likely that you would be better off without it?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Robert A. Heinlein", "slug": "robert-a-heinlein", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein" }, "book": { "title": "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress", "slug": "the-moon-is-a-harsh-mistress", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein/the-moon-is-a-harsh-mistress" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 301, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "law", "slug": "law", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/law" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Moon_Is_a_Harsh_Mistress#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:43:59" }, { "id": "4ad3bce0-1c8b-423f-a3dd-ddc45ff674a5", "slug": "there-is-nothing", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein/the-past-through-tomorrow/there-is-nothing", "text": "There is nothing in this world so permanent as a temporary emergency.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Robert A. Heinlein", "slug": "robert-a-heinlein", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein" }, "book": { "title": "The Past Through Tomorrow", "slug": "the-past-through-tomorrow", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein/the-past-through-tomorrow" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 100, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_A._Heinlein#The_Past_Through_Tomorrow_(1967)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:43:55" }, { "id": "8cb608a1-38d5-41e6-817c-a8af1dd8a99d", "slug": "our-political-tradition", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-kenneth-galbraith/the-great-crash-1929/our-political-tradition", "text": "Our political tradition sets great store by the generalized symbol of evil. This is the wrongdoer whose wrongdoing will be taken by the public to be the secret propensity of a whole community or class.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Kenneth Galbraith", "slug": "john-kenneth-galbraith", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-kenneth-galbraith" }, "book": { "title": "The Great Crash 1929", "slug": "the-great-crash-1929", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-kenneth-galbraith/the-great-crash-1929" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 154, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "prejudice", "slug": "prejudice", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/prejudice" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Kenneth_Galbraith#The_Great_Crash,_1929_(1954_and_1997)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:43:54" }, { "id": "676c091e-3dbf-4f71-8a5f-1ae053008e29", "slug": "our-political-life", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-kenneth-galbraith/the-great-crash-1929/our-political-life", "text": "Our political life favors the extremes of speech; the man who is gifted in the arts of abuse is bound to be a notable, if not always a great figure.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Kenneth Galbraith", "slug": "john-kenneth-galbraith", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-kenneth-galbraith" }, "book": { "title": "The Great Crash 1929", "slug": "the-great-crash-1929", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-kenneth-galbraith/the-great-crash-1929" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 110, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Kenneth_Galbraith#The_Great_Crash,_1929_(1954_and_1997)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:43:54" }, { "id": "e68e376c-580c-4802-a46b-9b391a9fdf84", "slug": "all-political-problems", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/arthur-c-clarke/childhoods-end/all-political-problems", "text": "\"All political problems,\" Karellen had once told Stormgren, \"can be solved by the correct application of power\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Arthur C. Clarke", "slug": "arthur-c-clarke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/arthur-c-clarke" }, "book": { "title": "Childhood's End", "slug": "childhoods-end", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/arthur-c-clarke/childhoods-end" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Childhood's_End#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:43:52" }, { "id": "536609d0-ea0c-4010-9241-88c404e0a6d7", "slug": "terror-can-be-very", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/leon-trotsky/terrorism-and-communism/terror-can-be-very", "text": "'Terror can be very efficient against a reactionary class which does not want to leave the scene of operations. Intimidation is a powerful weapon of policy, both internationally and internally. War, like revolution, is founded upon intimidation.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Leon Trotsky", "slug": "leon-trotsky", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/leon-trotsky" }, "book": { "title": "Terrorism and Communism", "slug": "terrorism-and-communism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/leon-trotsky/terrorism-and-communism" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "fear", "slug": "fear", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/fear" }, { "name": "terrorism", "slug": "terrorism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/terrorism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Leon_Trotsky#Terrorism_and_Communism_(1920)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:43:45" }, { "id": "a390e7bf-c8ff-4a8d-a520-281cbff62ded", "slug": "the-pornography-of-tough-mindedness", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/christopher-hitchens/for-the-sake-of-argument/the-pornography-of-tough-mindedness", "text": "The pornography of tough-mindedness, covert action, and preparedness for \"peace through strength\" has had a predictably hypnotic effect on the legislative branch, turning it from legal watchdog to lapdog.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Christopher Hitchens", "slug": "christopher-hitchens", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/christopher-hitchens" }, "book": { "title": "For the Sake of Argument", "slug": "for-the-sake-of-argument", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/christopher-hitchens/for-the-sake-of-argument" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens#For_the_Sake_of_Argument:_Essays_and_Minority_Reports_(1993)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:43:05" }, { "id": "6e624945-dafa-4f7b-957b-cd2f272c5962", "slug": "what-a-country", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/christopher-hitchens/for-the-sake-of-argument/what-a-country", "text": "What a country, and what a culture, when the liberals cry before they are hurt, and the reactionaries pose as brave nonconformists, while the radicals make a fetish of their own jokey irrelevance.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Christopher Hitchens", "slug": "christopher-hitchens", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/christopher-hitchens" }, "book": { "title": "For the Sake of Argument", "slug": "for-the-sake-of-argument", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/christopher-hitchens/for-the-sake-of-argument" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "hypocrisy", "slug": "hypocrisy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hypocrisy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens#For_the_Sake_of_Argument:_Essays_and_Minority_Reports_(1993)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:43:04" }, { "id": "5c866969-07ff-499d-97cc-2be80aedd2dc", "slug": "every-campaign-garry", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/christopher-hitchens/for-the-sake-of-argument/every-campaign-garry", "text": "Every campaign, Garry Wills once wrote, \"taught Nixon the same lesson: mobilize resentment against those in power.\" History taught the same to many conservative and reactionary populist movements, whose real attitude to those in power and authority was one of a servile, envious, vicarious adoration.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Christopher Hitchens", "slug": "christopher-hitchens", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/christopher-hitchens" }, "book": { "title": "For the Sake of Argument", "slug": "for-the-sake-of-argument", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/christopher-hitchens/for-the-sake-of-argument" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "jealousy", "slug": "jealousy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/jealousy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens#For_the_Sake_of_Argument:_Essays_and_Minority_Reports_(1993)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:43:04" }, { "id": "35ecbc27-e057-4438-aba0-ff84045264ea", "slug": "it-is-rather", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/christopher-hitchens/for-the-sake-of-argument/it-is-rather", "text": "It is rather a pity, considered from the standpoint of the professional politician or opinion-taker, that nobody knows exactly what \"credibility\" is, or how one acquires it. \"Credibility\" doesn't stand for anything morally straightforward, like meaning what you say or saying what you mean. Nor does it signify anything remotely quantifiable — any correlation between evidence presented and case made. Suggestively, perhaps, it entered the language as a consensus euphemism during the Vietnam War, when \"concerned\" members of the Eastern Establishment spoke of a \"credibility gap\" rather than give awful utterance to the thought that the Johnson administration was systematically lying. To restore its \"credibility,\" that administration was urged — not to stop lying, but to improve its public presentation. At some stage in the lesson learned from that injunction, the era of postmodern politics began. It doesn't seem ridiculous now to have \"approval ratings\" that fluctuate from week to week, because these are based upon the all-important \"perception\" factor, which has in turn quite lost its own relationship to the word \"perceptive.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Christopher Hitchens", "slug": "christopher-hitchens", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/christopher-hitchens" }, "book": { "title": "For the Sake of Argument", "slug": "for-the-sake-of-argument", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/christopher-hitchens/for-the-sake-of-argument" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "lies", "slug": "lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/lies" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens#For_the_Sake_of_Argument:_Essays_and_Minority_Reports_(1993)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:43:04" }, { "id": "06e4d727-daef-4a05-bdf3-cfdf45b6a9a1", "slug": "there-is-a-limit", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/christopher-hitchens/for-the-sake-of-argument/there-is-a-limit", "text": "There is a limit to the success of conservative populism and the exploitation of \"little guy\" or \"silent majority\" rhetoric, and it is very often reached because of the emaciated, corrupted personalities of the demagogues themselves.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Christopher Hitchens", "slug": "christopher-hitchens", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/christopher-hitchens" }, "book": { "title": "For the Sake of Argument", "slug": "for-the-sake-of-argument", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/christopher-hitchens/for-the-sake-of-argument" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "manipulation", "slug": "manipulation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/manipulation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens#For_the_Sake_of_Argument:_Essays_and_Minority_Reports_(1993)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:43:04" }, { "id": "86969e12-0986-4d68-b043-3f957512fd6b", "slug": "if-you-actually", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-vonnegut/a-man-without-a-country/if-you-actually", "text": "If you actually are an educated, thinking person, you will not be welcome in Washington DC.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Kurt Vonnegut", "slug": "kurt-vonnegut", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-vonnegut" }, "book": { "title": "A Man Without a Country", "slug": "a-man-without-a-country", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-vonnegut/a-man-without-a-country" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "intellectuals", "slug": "intellectuals", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/intellectuals" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kurt_Vonnegut#A_Man_Without_a_Country_(2005)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:46" }, { "id": "047736c4-61e9-40f2-baf2-04d343cb6dea", "slug": "some-of-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-vonnegut/a-man-without-a-country/some-of-the", "text": "Some of the loudest, most proudly ignorant guessing in the world is going on in Washington today. Our leaders are sick of all the solid information that has been dumped on humanity by research and scholarship and investigative reporting. They think that the whole country is sick of it, and they could be right. It isn't the gold standard that they want to put us back on. They want something even more basic. They want to put us back on the snake-oil standard.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Kurt Vonnegut", "slug": "kurt-vonnegut", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-vonnegut" }, "book": { "title": "A Man Without a Country", "slug": "a-man-without-a-country", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-vonnegut/a-man-without-a-country" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "knowledge", "slug": "knowledge", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/knowledge" }, { "name": "ignorance", "slug": "ignorance", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/ignorance" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kurt_Vonnegut#A_Man_Without_a_Country_(2005)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:46" }, { "id": "fd172f16-4f1f-4d2e-aa3c-65565b6d663f", "slug": "there-is-a-tragic", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-vonnegut/a-man-without-a-country/there-is-a-tragic", "text": "There is a tragic flaw in our precious Constitution, and I don't know what can be done to fix it. This is it: Only nut cases want to be president.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Kurt Vonnegut", "slug": "kurt-vonnegut", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-vonnegut" }, "book": { "title": "A Man Without a Country", "slug": "a-man-without-a-country", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-vonnegut/a-man-without-a-country" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kurt_Vonnegut#A_Man_Without_a_Country_(2005)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:45" }, { "id": "9152773b-6efc-4ea1-8ad1-2ba481c20bed", "slug": "the-two-real", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-vonnegut/wampeters-foma-granfalloons/the-two-real", "text": "The two real political parties in America are the Winners and the Losers. The people don't acknowledge this. They claim membership in two imaginary parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, instead.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Kurt Vonnegut", "slug": "kurt-vonnegut", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-vonnegut" }, "book": { "title": "Wampeters, Foma & Granfalloons", "slug": "wampeters-foma-granfalloons", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-vonnegut/wampeters-foma-granfalloons" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kurt_Vonnegut#Wampeters,_Foma_%26_Granfalloons_(1974)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:40" }, { "id": "d4ea15d0-ef2c-4ed7-b6af-8c820d97dda8", "slug": "i-figured-things", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-vonnegut/player-piano/i-figured-things", "text": "I figured things would be better in Washington, that I'd find a lot of people I admired and belonged with. Washington is worse, Paul—Ilium to the tenth power. Stupid, arrogant, self-congratulatory, unimaginative, humorless men. And the women, Paul—the dull wives feeding on the power and glory of their husbands.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Kurt Vonnegut", "slug": "kurt-vonnegut", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-vonnegut" }, "book": { "title": "Player Piano", "slug": "player-piano", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-vonnegut/player-piano" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 88, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "pride", "slug": "pride", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pride" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kurt_Vonnegut#Player_Piano_(1952)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:34" }, { "id": "9d987939-0696-484a-8c7a-c5a8a0f52cc9", "slug": "what-we-saw", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/nassim-nicholas-taleb/skin-in-the-game/what-we-saw", "text": "What we saw worldwide from 2014 to 2018, from India to the U.K. to the U.S., was a rebellion against the inner circle of no-skin-in-the-game policymaking \"clerks\" and journalists-insiders, that class of paternalistic semi-intellectual experts with some Ivy League, Oxford-Cambridge or similar label-driven education who are telling the rest of us 1) what to do, 2) what to eat, 3) how to speak, 4) how to think, and… 5) whom to vote for.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "slug": "nassim-nicholas-taleb", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/nassim-nicholas-taleb" }, "book": { "title": "Skin in the Game", "slug": "skin-in-the-game", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/nassim-nicholas-taleb/skin-in-the-game" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 123, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "intellectuals", "slug": "intellectuals", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/intellectuals" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nassim_Nicholas_Taleb#Skin_in_the_Game_(2018)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:34" }, { "id": "d6d4c7f2-5b92-4e03-aeda-b8c7d30e6c0f", "slug": "my-aversion-from", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thomas-mann/the-magic-mountain/my-aversion-from", "text": "My aversion from music rests on political grounds.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Thomas Mann", "slug": "thomas-mann", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thomas-mann" }, "book": { "title": "The Magic Mountain", "slug": "the-magic-mountain", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thomas-mann/the-magic-mountain" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "music", "slug": "music", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/music" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Mann#The_Magic_Mountain_(1924)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:16" }, { "id": "c76a553c-6c56-40b3-8493-f5ce48f3009a", "slug": "everything-is-politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thomas-mann/the-magic-mountain/everything-is-politics", "text": "Everything is politics.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Thomas Mann", "slug": "thomas-mann", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thomas-mann" }, "book": { "title": "The Magic Mountain", "slug": "the-magic-mountain", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thomas-mann/the-magic-mountain" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Mann#The_Magic_Mountain_(1924)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:16" }, { "id": "8c94eeac-6124-4347-8da1-cf1d5538f1aa", "slug": "there-is-something", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thomas-mann/the-magic-mountain/there-is-something", "text": "There is something suspicious about music, gentlemen. I insist that she is, by her nature, equivocal. I shall not be going too far in saying at once that she is politically suspect.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Thomas Mann", "slug": "thomas-mann", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thomas-mann" }, "book": { "title": "The Magic Mountain", "slug": "the-magic-mountain", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thomas-mann/the-magic-mountain" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "music", "slug": "music", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/music" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Mann#The_Magic_Mountain_(1924)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:16" }, { "id": "fcee9013-d729-4932-aa68-b820fbc74698", "slug": "andrew-jackson-neatly", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/orson-scott-card/alvin-journeyman/andrew-jackson-neatly", "text": "Andrew Jackson neatly resolved the issue by walking into congress and placing his hand on the Bible they kept there as a reminder of all the virtues they worked so hard to get the voters to believe they possessed.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Orson Scott Card", "slug": "orson-scott-card", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/orson-scott-card" }, "book": { "title": "Alvin Journeyman", "slug": "alvin-journeyman", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/orson-scott-card/alvin-journeyman" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "hypocrisy", "slug": "hypocrisy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hypocrisy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Orson_Scott_Card#Alvin_Journeyman_(1995)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:13" }, { "id": "73dab5d3-8a81-4ef4-aeb7-6f5fd9efea0d", "slug": "many-of-my-generation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/colin-powell/my-american-journey/many-of-my-generation", "text": "Many of my generation, the career captains, majors, and lieutenant colonels seasoned in that war [Vietnam], vowed that when our turn came to call the shots, we would not quietly acquiesce in halfhearted warfare for half-baked reasons that the American people could not understand.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Colin Powell", "slug": "colin-powell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/colin-powell" }, "book": { "title": "My American Journey", "slug": "my-american-journey", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/colin-powell/my-american-journey" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "war", "slug": "war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/war" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Colin_Powell#My_American_Journey_(1996)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:01" }, { "id": "3c9534a1-a156-4ce3-b81c-ef01613e7195", "slug": "the-conservatives-see", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ayn-rand/philosophy/the-conservatives-see", "text": "The conservatives see man as a body freely roaming the earth, building sand piles or factories—with an electronic computer inside his skull, controlled from Washington. The liberals see man as a soul freewheeling to the farthest reaches of the universe—but wearing chains from nose to toes when he crosses the street to buy a loaf of bread.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ayn Rand", "slug": "ayn-rand", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ayn-rand" }, "book": { "title": "Philosophy", "slug": "philosophy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ayn-rand/philosophy" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "freedom", "slug": "freedom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/freedom" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ayn_Rand#Philosophy:_Who_Needs_It_(1982)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:41:53" }, { "id": "e8c28f7b-29a3-4925-acec-2dcc2eb614b3", "slug": "observe-in-politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ayn-rand/the-virtue-of-selfishness/observe-in-politics", "text": "Observe, in politics, that the term extremism has become a synonym of \"evil,\" regardless of the content of the issue (the evil is not what you are extreme about, but that you are \"extreme\"—i.e., consistent).", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ayn Rand", "slug": "ayn-rand", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ayn-rand" }, "book": { "title": "The Virtue of Selfishness", "slug": "the-virtue-of-selfishness", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ayn-rand/the-virtue-of-selfishness" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "evil", "slug": "evil", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/evil" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ayn_Rand#The_Virtue_of_Selfishness_(1964)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:41:52" }, { "id": "f95c7f94-198c-4cce-9900-493aaaf55ee1", "slug": "it-is-in-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/aldous-huxley/brave-new-world-revisited/it-is-in-the", "text": "It is in the social sphere, in the realm of politics and economics, that the Will to Order becomes really dangerous.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Aldous Huxley", "slug": "aldous-huxley", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/aldous-huxley" }, "book": { "title": "Brave New World Revisited", "slug": "brave-new-world-revisited", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/aldous-huxley/brave-new-world-revisited" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 22, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aldous_Huxley#Brave_New_World_Revisited_(1958)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:41:37" }, { "id": "af3e027d-119b-476e-977d-d9baee7e2043", "slug": "the-effectiveness-of-political", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/aldous-huxley/brave-new-world-revisited/the-effectiveness-of-political", "text": "The effectiveness of political and religious propaganda depends upon the methods employed, not upon the doctrines taught. These doctrines may be true or false, wholesome or pernicious—it makes little or no difference.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Aldous Huxley", "slug": "aldous-huxley", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/aldous-huxley" }, "book": { "title": "Brave New World Revisited", "slug": "brave-new-world-revisited", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/aldous-huxley/brave-new-world-revisited" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 63, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "religion", "slug": "religion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/religion" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "propaganda", "slug": "propaganda", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/propaganda" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aldous_Huxley#Brave_New_World_Revisited_(1958)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:41:37" }, { "id": "be2f6857-25a6-49c2-81c7-cf11116ca3ae", "slug": "i-learned-long", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein/job-a-comedy-of-justice/i-learned-long", "text": "I learned long ago, in dealing with legislators, that anyone who tries to keep you from having a witness is bad news.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Robert A. Heinlein", "slug": "robert-a-heinlein", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein" }, "book": { "title": "Job: A Comedy of Justice", "slug": "job-a-comedy-of-justice", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein/job-a-comedy-of-justice" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 300, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "caution", "slug": "caution", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/caution" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Job:_A_Comedy_of_Justice#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:41:20" }, { "id": "a43d9ea7-0e2b-499c-b825-a8152ed6e317", "slug": "in-fact-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gore-vidal/united-states/in-fact-the", "text": "In fact, the French - who read and theorise the most - became so addicted to political experiment that in the two centuries since our own rather drab revolution they have exuberantly produced one Directory, one Consulate, two empires, three restorations of the monarchy, and five republics. That's what happens when you take writing too seriously.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Gore Vidal", "slug": "gore-vidal", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gore-vidal" }, "book": { "title": "United States", "slug": "united-states", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gore-vidal/united-states" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gore_Vidal#United_States_-_Essays_1952%E2%80%931992_(1992)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:41:19" }, { "id": "8f2a0148-ea1a-4fc3-bb27-c13bc6d5b666", "slug": "the-last-best", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gore-vidal/at-home/the-last-best", "text": "The last best hope on earth, two trillion dollars in debt, is spinning out of control, and all we can do is stare at a flickering cathode-ray tube as Ollie \"answers\" questions on TV while the press, resolutely irrelevant as ever, asks politicians if they have committed adultery. From V-J Day 1945 to this has been, my fellow countrymen, a perfect nightmare.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Gore Vidal", "slug": "gore-vidal", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gore-vidal" }, "book": { "title": "At Home", "slug": "at-home", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gore-vidal/at-home" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "media", "slug": "media", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/media" }, { "name": "America", "slug": "america", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/america" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gore_Vidal#At_Home_(1988)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:41:19" }, { "id": "04d06edc-33f3-4f36-9b4c-df9f3f20108a", "slug": "my-father-had", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gore-vidal/at-home/my-father-had", "text": "My father had a deep and lifelong contempt for politicians in general (\"They tell lies,\" he used to say with wonder, \"even when they don't have to\").", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Gore Vidal", "slug": "gore-vidal", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gore-vidal" }, "book": { "title": "At Home", "slug": "at-home", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gore-vidal/at-home" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "lies", "slug": "lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/lies" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gore_Vidal#At_Home_(1988)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:41:19" }, { "id": "8ee8fb24-7ded-42ad-b355-42b47e1a1b8f", "slug": "no-passion-is-stronger", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/virginia-woolf/orlando/no-passion-is-stronger", "text": "No passion is stronger in the breast of man than the desire to make others believe as he believes. Nothing so cuts at the root of his happiness and fills him with rage as the sense that another rates low what he prizes high. Whigs and Tories, Liberal party and Labour party — for what do they battle except their own prestige?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Virginia Woolf", "slug": "virginia-woolf", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/virginia-woolf" }, "book": { "title": "Orlando", "slug": "orlando", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/virginia-woolf/orlando" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "beliefs", "slug": "beliefs", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/beliefs" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Virginia_Woolf#Orlando:_A_Biography_(1928)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:41:17" }, { "id": "c68ffc4e-87ec-4f5d-82f0-19f0cf6835c8", "slug": "neither-force-nor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/t-h-white/the-book-of-merlyn/neither-force-nor", "text": "“Neither force, nor argument, nor opinion,\" said Merlyn with the deepest sincerity, \"are thinking. Argument is only a display of mental force, a sort of fencing with points in order to gain a victory, not for truth. Opinions are the blind alleys of lazy or of stupid men, who are unable to think. If ever a true politician really thinks a subject out dispassionately, even Homo stultus will be compelled to accept his findings in the end. Opinion can never stand beside truth. At present, however, Homo impoliticus is content either to argue with opinions or to fight with his fists, instead of waiting for the truth in his head. It will take a million years, before the mass of men can be called political animals.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "T. H. White", "slug": "t-h-white", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/t-h-white" }, "book": { "title": "The Book of Merlyn", "slug": "the-book-of-merlyn", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/t-h-white/the-book-of-merlyn" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "truth", "slug": "truth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/truth" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "thinking", "slug": "thinking", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/thinking" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/T._H._White#The_Book_of_Merlyn_(1977)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:41:12" }, { "id": "63856ecb-f3ee-4695-adb4-9d5032a35d1f", "slug": "we-find-that", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/t-h-white/the-book-of-merlyn/we-find-that", "text": "\"We find that at present the human race is divided into one wise man, nine knaves, and ninety fools out of every hundred. That is, by an optimistic observer. The nine knaves assemble themselves under the banner of the most knavish among them, and become 'politicians'; the wise man stands out, because he knows himself to be hopelessly outnumbered, and devotes himself to poetry, mathematics, or philosophy; while the ninety fools plod off under the banners of the nine villains, according to fancy, into the labyrinths of chicanery, malice and warfare. It is pleasant to have command, observes Sancho Panza, even over a flock of sheep, and that is why the politicians raise their banners. It is, moreover, the same thing for the sheep whatever the banner. If it is democracy, then the nine knaves will become members of parliament; if fascism, they will become party leaders; if communism, commissars. Nothing will be different, except the name. The fools will be still fools, the knaves still leaders, the results still exploitation. As for the wise man, his lot will be much the same under any ideology. Under democracy he will be encouraged to starve to death in a garret, under fascism he will be put in a concentration camp, under communism he will be liquidated.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "T. H. White", "slug": "t-h-white", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/t-h-white" }, "book": { "title": "The Book of Merlyn", "slug": "the-book-of-merlyn", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/t-h-white/the-book-of-merlyn" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "stupidity", "slug": "stupidity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/stupidity" }, { "name": "wisdom", "slug": "wisdom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/wisdom" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/T._H._White#The_Book_of_Merlyn_(1977)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:41:12" }, { "id": "d941c27e-146e-4640-9ad6-502ab5cc2772", "slug": "suppose-two-politicians", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/richard-p-feynman/the-meaning-of-it-all/suppose-two-politicians", "text": "Suppose two politicians are running for president, and one goes through the farm section and is asked, \"What are you going to do about the farm question?\" And he knows right away - bang, bang, bang. Now he goes to the next campaigner who comes through. \"What are you going to do on the farm problem?\" \"Well, I don't know. I used to be a general, and I don't know anything about farming. But it seems to me it must be a very difficult problem, because for twelve, fifteen, twenty years people have been struggling with it, and people say that they know how to solve the farm problem. And it must be a hard problem. So the way I intend to solve the farm problem is to gather around me a lot of people who know something about it, to look at all the experience that we have had with this problem before, to take a certain amount of time at it, and then to come to some conclusion in a reasonable way about it. Now, I can't tell you ahead of time what solution, but I can give you some of the principles I'll try to use - not to make things difficult for individual farmers, if there are any special problems we will have to have some way to take care of them,\" etc., etc., etc. Now such a man would never get anywhere in this country, I think. It's never been tried, anyway. This is in the attitude of mind of the populace, that they have to have an answer and that a man who gives an answer is better than a man who gives no answer, when the real fact of the matter is, in most cases, it is the other way around. And the result of this of course is that the politician must give an answer. And the result of this is that political promises can never be kept. It is a mechanical fact; it is impossible. The result of that is that nobody believes campaign promises. And the result of that is a general disparaging of politics, a general lack of respect for the people who are trying to solve problems, and so forth. It's all generated from the very beginning (maybe - this is a simple analysis). It's all generated, maybe, by the fact that the attitude of the populace is to try to find the answer instead of trying to find a man who has a way of getting at the answer.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Richard P. Feynman", "slug": "richard-p-feynman", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/richard-p-feynman" }, "book": { "title": "The Meaning of It All", "slug": "the-meaning-of-it-all", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/richard-p-feynman/the-meaning-of-it-all" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "promises", "slug": "promises", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/promises" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Feynman#The_Meaning_of_It_All_(1999)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:41:01" }, { "id": "10d34cc2-3252-4aeb-88cf-0c0e14bac8b8", "slug": "sometimes-i-wonder", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/eleanor-roosevelt/my-day/sometimes-i-wonder", "text": "Sometimes I wonder if we shall ever grow up in our politics and say definite things which mean something, or whether we shall always go on using generalities to which everyone can subscribe, and which mean very little. (1 July 1940)", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Eleanor Roosevelt", "slug": "eleanor-roosevelt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/eleanor-roosevelt" }, "book": { "title": "My Day", "slug": "my-day", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/eleanor-roosevelt/my-day" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "words", "slug": "words", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/words" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eleanor_Roosevelt#My_Day_(1935%E2%80%931962)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:57" }, { "id": "b5ef1914-cc3c-47a0-820a-2641db88c8a6", "slug": "you-can-say", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/frank-herbert/whipping-star/you-can-say", "text": "You can say things which cannot be done. This is elementary. The trick is to keep attention focused on what is said and not on what can be done.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Frank Herbert", "slug": "frank-herbert", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/frank-herbert" }, "book": { "title": "Whipping Star", "slug": "whipping-star", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/frank-herbert/whipping-star" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 87, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "words", "slug": "words", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/words" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Frank_Herbert#Whipping_Star_(1969)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:56" }, { "id": "9390795e-fa0b-482c-a2e2-59537be58d71", "slug": "often-i-must", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/frank-herbert/dune-messiah/often-i-must", "text": "Often I must speak other than I think. That is called diplomacy.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Frank Herbert", "slug": "frank-herbert", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/frank-herbert" }, "book": { "title": "Dune Messiah", "slug": "dune-messiah", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/frank-herbert/dune-messiah" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "lies", "slug": "lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/lies" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dune#Dune_Messiah_(1969)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:51" }, { "id": "35122e9b-8135-486c-9f09-e9bc6d679487", "slug": "when-religion-and", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/frank-herbert/dune/when-religion-and", "text": "When religion and politics travel in the same cart, the riders believe nothing can stand in their way. Their movement becomes headlong – faster and faster and faster. They put aside all thought of obstacles and forget that a precipice does not show itself to the man in a blind rush until it's too late.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Frank Herbert", "slug": "frank-herbert", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/frank-herbert" }, "book": { "title": "Dune", "slug": "dune", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/frank-herbert/dune" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "religion", "slug": "religion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/religion" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "fanaticism", "slug": "fanaticism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/fanaticism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dune#Book_3:_The_Prophet", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:49" }, { "id": "0370d867-41fe-4738-963d-ca07145063f1", "slug": "you-cannot-avoid", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/frank-herbert/dune/you-cannot-avoid", "text": "You cannot avoid the interplay of politics within an orthodox religion. This power struggle permeates the training, educating and disciplining of the orthodox community. Because of this pressure, the leaders of such a community inevitably must face that ultimate internal question: to succumb to complete opportunism as the price of maintaining their rule, or risk sacrificing themselves for the sake of the orthodox ethic.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Frank Herbert", "slug": "frank-herbert", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/frank-herbert" }, "book": { "title": "Dune", "slug": "dune", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/frank-herbert/dune" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "religion", "slug": "religion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/religion" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dune#Book_3:_The_Prophet", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:49" }, { "id": "b492f12e-b7f4-4787-9bd1-3f6bee35ca7b", "slug": "in-politics-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/frank-herbert/dune/in-politics-the", "text": "In politics, the tripod is the most unstable of all structures.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Frank Herbert", "slug": "frank-herbert", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/frank-herbert" }, "book": { "title": "Dune", "slug": "dune", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/frank-herbert/dune" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dune#Book_1:_Dune", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:48" }, { "id": "b53e1873-a3c3-4afe-a045-2cec5f262ae5", "slug": "unfortunately-you-cant", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/noam-chomsky/government-in-the-future/unfortunately-you-cant", "text": "Unfortunately, you can't vote the rascals out, because you never voted them in, in the first place. The corporate executives and the corporation lawyers and so on who overwhelmingly staff the executive, assisted increasingly by a university based mandarin class, remain in power no matter whom you elect.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Noam Chomsky", "slug": "noam-chomsky", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/noam-chomsky" }, "book": { "title": "Government in the Future", "slug": "government-in-the-future", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/noam-chomsky/government-in-the-future" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 140, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "democracy", "slug": "democracy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/democracy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Noam_Chomsky#Government_in_the_Future_(1970)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:45" }, { "id": "b28a65f9-9582-4de4-aee9-9f6d34a5a580", "slug": "roughly-speaking-i-think", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/noam-chomsky/government-in-the-future/roughly-speaking-i-think", "text": "Roughly speaking, I think it's accurate to say that a corporate elite of managers and owners governs the economy and the political system as well, at least in very large measure. The people, so-called, do exercise an occasional choice among those who Marx once called \"the rival factions and adventurers of the ruling class.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Noam Chomsky", "slug": "noam-chomsky", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/noam-chomsky" }, "book": { "title": "Government in the Future", "slug": "government-in-the-future", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/noam-chomsky/government-in-the-future" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 146, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Noam_Chomsky#Government_in_the_Future_(1970)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:45" }, { "id": "fc908d6f-ae25-4363-9f01-3109a6042ec7", "slug": "this-it-is-that", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/herman-melville/moby-dick/this-it-is-that", "text": "This it is, that for ever keeps God's true princes of the Empire from the world's hustings; and leaves the highest honors that this air can give, to those men who become famous more through their infinite inferiority to the choice hidden handful of the Divine Inert, than through their undoubted superiority over the dead level of the mass. Such large virtue lurks in these small things when extreme political superstitions invest them, that in some royal instances even to idiot imbecility they have imparted potency.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Herman Melville", "slug": "herman-melville", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/herman-melville" }, "book": { "title": "Moby-Dick", "slug": "moby-dick", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/herman-melville/moby-dick" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 162, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Moby-Dick#The_Specksynder_(33)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:40" }, { "id": "ab7b8d8d-1767-4df3-815d-3b1f40ca0182", "slug": "there-is-hardly-a", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexis-de-tocqueville/democracy-in-america/there-is-hardly-a", "text": "There is hardly a member of Congress who can make up his mind to go home without having despatched at least one speech to his constituents; nor who will endure any interruption until he has introduced into his harangue whatever useful suggestions may be made touching the four-and-twenty States of which the Union is composed, and especially the district which he represents.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Alexis de Tocqueville", "slug": "alexis-de-tocqueville", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexis-de-tocqueville" }, "book": { "title": "Democracy in America", "slug": "democracy-in-america", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexis-de-tocqueville/democracy-in-america" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexis_de_Tocqueville#Democracy_in_America,_Volume_II_(1840)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:38" }, { "id": "9369134e-6c9a-4e4f-85b9-524b1cb1deec", "slug": "the-debates-of-that", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexis-de-tocqueville/democracy-in-america/the-debates-of-that", "text": "The debates of that great assembly are frequently vague and perplexed, seeming to be dragged rather than to march, to the intended goal. Something of this sort must, I think, always happen in public democratic assemblies.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Alexis de Tocqueville", "slug": "alexis-de-tocqueville", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexis-de-tocqueville" }, "book": { "title": "Democracy in America", "slug": "democracy-in-america", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexis-de-tocqueville/democracy-in-america" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "democracy", "slug": "democracy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/democracy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexis_de_Tocqueville#Democracy_in_America,_Volume_II_(1840)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:38" }, { "id": "4bfc1eae-b521-4a6c-93db-89782fc4b14f", "slug": "in-cities-men", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexis-de-tocqueville/democracy-in-america/in-cities-men", "text": "In cities men cannot be prevented from concerting together, and from awakening a mutual excitement which prompts sudden and passionate resolutions. Cities may be looked upon as large assemblies, of which all the inhabitants are members; their populace exercises a prodigious influence upon the magistrates, and frequently executes its own wishes without their intervention.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Alexis de Tocqueville", "slug": "alexis-de-tocqueville", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexis-de-tocqueville" }, "book": { "title": "Democracy in America", "slug": "democracy-in-america", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexis-de-tocqueville/democracy-in-america" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "cities", "slug": "cities", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/cities" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexis_de_Tocqueville#Democracy_in_America,_Volume_I_(1835)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:38" }, { "id": "f2cc2e7d-5617-4e26-8906-77e6c2437e29", "slug": "the-pursuit-of-wealth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexis-de-tocqueville/democracy-in-america/the-pursuit-of-wealth", "text": "The pursuit of wealth generally diverts men of great talents and strong passions from the pursuit of power; and it frequently happens that a man does not undertake to direct the fortunes of the state until he has shown himself incompetent to conduct his own.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Alexis de Tocqueville", "slug": "alexis-de-tocqueville", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexis-de-tocqueville" }, "book": { "title": "Democracy in America", "slug": "democracy-in-america", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexis-de-tocqueville/democracy-in-america" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "wealth", "slug": "wealth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/wealth" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexis_de_Tocqueville#Democracy_in_America,_Volume_I_(1835)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:37" }, { "id": "3d9031d1-2262-4973-8804-105d53c5e46c", "slug": "the-will-of-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexis-de-tocqueville/democracy-in-america/the-will-of-the", "text": "\"The will of the nation\" is one of those expressions which have been most profusely abused by the wily and the despotic of every age.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Alexis de Tocqueville", "slug": "alexis-de-tocqueville", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexis-de-tocqueville" }, "book": { "title": "Democracy in America", "slug": "democracy-in-america", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alexis-de-tocqueville/democracy-in-america" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "tyranny", "slug": "tyranny", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/tyranny" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexis_de_Tocqueville#Democracy_in_America,_Volume_I_(1835)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:37" }, { "id": "49117147-cbd7-45db-8f35-861f0f983a9e", "slug": "i-think-that", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-m-pirsig/zen-and-the-art-of-motorcycle-maintenance/i-think-that", "text": "I think that if we are going to reform the world, and make it a better place to live in, the way to do it is not with talk about relationships of a political nature, which are inevitably dualistic, full of subjects and objects and their relationship to one another; or with programs full of things for other people to do. I think that kind of approach starts it at the end and presumes the end is the beginning. Programs of a political nature are important end products of social quality that can be effective only if the underlying structure of social values is right. The social values are right only if the individual values are right. The place to improve the world is first in one's own heart and head and hands, and then work outward from there. Other people can talk about how to expand the destiny of mankind. I just want to talk about how to fix a motorcycle.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Robert M. Pirsig", "slug": "robert-m-pirsig", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-m-pirsig" }, "book": { "title": "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", "slug": "zen-and-the-art-of-motorcycle-maintenance", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-m-pirsig/zen-and-the-art-of-motorcycle-maintenance" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "change", "slug": "change", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/change" }, { "name": "personal growth", "slug": "personal-growth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/personal-growth" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_M._Pirsig#Zen_and_the_Art_of_Motorcycle_Maintenance_(1974)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:33" }, { "id": "3c84eb7e-b956-461c-9668-121ba8d965fd", "slug": "when-we-consider", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-sagan/the-demon-haunted-world/when-we-consider", "text": "When we consider the founders of our nation: Jefferson, Washington, Samuel and John Adams, Madison and Monroe, Benjamin Franklin, Tom Paine and many others; we have before us a list of at least ten and maybe even dozens of great political leaders. They were well educated. Products of the European Enlightenment, they were students of history. They knew human fallibility and weakness and corruptibility. They were fluent in the English language. They wrote their own speeches. They were realistic and practical, and at the same time motivated by high principles. They were not checking the pollsters on what to think this week. They knew what to think. They were comfortable with long-term thinking, planning even further ahead than the next election. They were self-sufficient, not requiring careers as politicians or lobbyists to make a living. They were able to bring out the best in us. They were interested in and, at least two of them, fluent in science. They attempted to set a course for the United States into the far future — not so much by establishing laws as by setting limits on what kinds of laws could be passed. The Constitution and its Bill of Rights have done remarkably well, constituting, despite human weaknesses, a machine able, more often than not, to correct its own trajectory. At that time, there were only about two and a half million citizens of the United States. Today there are about a hundred times more. So if there were ten people of the caliber of Thomas Jefferson then, there ought to be 10 x 100 = 1,000 Thomas Jefferson's today. Where are they?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Carl Sagan", "slug": "carl-sagan", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-sagan" }, "book": { "title": "The Demon-Haunted World", "slug": "the-demon-haunted-world", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-sagan/the-demon-haunted-world" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "history", "slug": "history", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/history" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan#The_Demon-Haunted_World_:_Science_as_a_Candle_in_the_Dark_(1995)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:29" }, { "id": "212eb744-e88a-4ee1-bbc9-17728de385e9", "slug": "this-planet-is-run", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-sagan/contact/this-planet-is-run", "text": "This planet is run by crazy people. Remember what they have to do to get where they are. Their perspective is so narrow, so...brief. A few years. In the best of them a few decades. They care only about the time they are in power.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Carl Sagan", "slug": "carl-sagan", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-sagan" }, "book": { "title": "Contact", "slug": "contact", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-sagan/contact" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 403, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan#Contact_(1985)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:28" }, { "id": "f20c1c19-8cf5-4993-b814-ed95dc6ca476", "slug": "we-have-heard", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-sagan/cosmos/we-have-heard", "text": "We have heard the rationales offered by the nuclear superpowers. We know who speaks for the nations. But who speaks for the human species? Who speaks for Earth?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Carl Sagan", "slug": "carl-sagan", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-sagan" }, "book": { "title": "Cosmos", "slug": "cosmos", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-sagan/cosmos" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 329, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "human nature", "slug": "human-nature", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/human-nature" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan#Cosmos_(1980)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:27" }, { "id": "8577fd4d-e064-429b-9e30-9d0b1318d2a1", "slug": "we-could-not", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-sagan/contact/we-could-not", "text": "We could not guess how different from us they (extraterrestrials) might be. It was hard enough to guess the intentions of our elected representatives in Washington.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Carl Sagan", "slug": "carl-sagan", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-sagan" }, "book": { "title": "Contact", "slug": "contact", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-sagan/contact" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 48, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan#Contact_(1985)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:27" }, { "id": "6c6eece4-bb65-434f-8558-7114d04aa1d1", "slug": "if-we-like", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-sagan/contact/if-we-like", "text": "If we like them, they're freedom fighters, she thought. If we don't like them, they're terrorists. In the unlikely case we can't make up our minds, they're temporarily only guerrillas.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Carl Sagan", "slug": "carl-sagan", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-sagan" }, "book": { "title": "Contact", "slug": "contact", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-sagan/contact" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 55, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "terrorism", "slug": "terrorism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/terrorism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan#Contact_(1985)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:27" }, { "id": "9ea6aa00-3bc5-4912-afdc-f244fa021c6d", "slug": "the-science-of-politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau/emile-or-on-education/the-science-of-politics", "text": "The science of politics is and probably always will be unknown. Grotius, our leader in this branch of learning, is only a child, and what is worse an untruthful child. When I hear Grotius praised to the skies and Hobbes overwhelmed with abuse, I perceive how little sensible men have read or understood these authors. As a matter of fact, their principles are exactly alike, they only differ in their mode of expression. Their methods are also different: Hobbes relies on sophism; Grotius relies on the poets; they are agreed in everything else. In modern times the only man who could have created this vast and useless science was the illustrious Montesquieu. But he was not concerned with the principles of political law; he was content to deal with the positive laws of settled governments; and nothing could be more different than these two branches of study. Yet he who would judge wisely in matters of actual government is forced to combine the two; he must know what ought to be in order to judge what is.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jean Jacques Rousseau", "slug": "jean-jacques-rousseau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau" }, "book": { "title": "Emile; or On Education", "slug": "emile-or-on-education", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau/emile-or-on-education" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "philosophy", "slug": "philosophy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/philosophy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emile,_or_On_Education#Book_V", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:38" }, { "id": "c8b65b53-f450-40e7-ae34-80f759defb33", "slug": "the-only-true", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/malcolm-x/the-autobiography-of-malcolm-x/the-only-true", "text": "The only true world solution today is governments guided by true religion — of the spirit.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Malcolm X", "slug": "malcolm-x", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/malcolm-x" }, "book": { "title": "The Autobiography of Malcolm X", "slug": "the-autobiography-of-malcolm-x", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/malcolm-x/the-autobiography-of-malcolm-x" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "religion", "slug": "religion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/religion" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Malcolm_X#The_Autobiography_of_Malcolm_X_(1965)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:24" }, { "id": "8d71998a-7466-49b4-b6ff-4cb18e05d020", "slug": "on-the-sixth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four/on-the-sixth", "text": "On the sixth day of Hate Week, after the processions, the speeches, the shouting, the singing, the banners, the posters, the films, the waxworks, the rolling of drums and squealing of trumpets, the tramp of marching feet, the grinding of the caterpillars of tanks, the roar of massed planes, the booming of guns — after six days of this, when the great orgasm was quivering to its climax and the general hatred of Eurasia had boiled up into such delirium that if the crowd could have got their hands on the 2,000 Eurasian war-criminals who were to be publicly hanged on the last day of the proceedings, they would unquestionably have torn them to pieces — at just this moment it had been announced that Oceania was not after all at war with Eurasia. Oceania was at war with Eastasia. Eurasia was an ally. There was, of course, no admission that any change had taken place. Merely it became known, with extreme suddenness and everywhere at once, that Eastasia and not Eurasia was the enemy.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Nineteen Eighty-Four", "slug": "nineteen-eighty-four", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "lies", "slug": "lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/lies" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four#Chapter_9", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:14" }, { "id": "7b0c8d59-3431-4005-b9b8-e8ccd356e595", "slug": "the-brotherhood-cannot", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four/the-brotherhood-cannot", "text": "The Brotherhood cannot be wiped out because it is not an organization in the ordinary sense. Nothing holds it together except an idea which is indestructible. You will never have anything to sustain you, except the idea. You will get no comradeship and no encouragement. When finally you are caught, you will get no help. We never help our members. At most, when it is absolutely necessary that someone should be silenced, we are occasionally able to smuggle a razor blade into a prisoner's cell.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Nineteen Eighty-Four", "slug": "nineteen-eighty-four", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four#Chapter_8", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:14" }, { "id": "702a20aa-cdb5-496f-bf85-a55cb9ae6477", "slug": "the-speech-had", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four/the-speech-had", "text": "The speech had been proceeding for perhaps twenty minutes when a messenger hurried on to the platform and a scrap of paper was slipped into the speaker's hand. He unrolled and read it without pausing in his speech. Nothing altered in his voice or manner, or in the content of what he was saying, but suddenly the names were different. Without words said, a wave of understanding rippled through the crowd. Oceania was at war with Eastasia! [...] The thing that impressed Winston in looking back was that the speaker had switched from one line to the other actually in midsentence, not only without a pause, but without even breaking the syntax.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Nineteen Eighty-Four", "slug": "nineteen-eighty-four", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "lies", "slug": "lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/lies" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four#Chapter_9", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:14" }, { "id": "3f8c4708-c6df-4a82-a50c-49e28ddefcae", "slug": "ingsoc-which-grew", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four/ingsoc-which-grew", "text": "Ingsoc, which grew out of the earlier Socialist movement and inherited its phraseology, has in fact carried out the main item in the Socialist programme; with the result, foreseen and intended beforehand, that economic inequality has been made permanent.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Nineteen Eighty-Four", "slug": "nineteen-eighty-four", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four#Chapter_9", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:14" }, { "id": "244113a1-7c36-4a58-80b6-1ef46a59e0d8", "slug": "in-a-way", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four/in-a-way", "text": "In a way, the world-view of the Party imposed itself most successfully on people incapable of understanding it. They could be made to accept the most flagrant violations of reality, because they never fully grasped the enormity of what was demanded of them, and were not sufficiently interested in public events to notice what was happening. By lack of understanding they remained sane. They simply swallowed everything, and what they swallowed did them no harm, because it left no residue behind, just as a grain of corn will pass undigested through the body of a bird.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Nineteen Eighty-Four", "slug": "nineteen-eighty-four", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "thinking", "slug": "thinking", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/thinking" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four#Chapter_5", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:14" }, { "id": "37bb2059-7087-4c62-9ca1-39523e76de05", "slug": "if-there-is-hope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four/if-there-is-hope", "text": "‘If there is hope,’ he had written in the diary, ‘it lies in the proles.’ The words kept coming back to him, statement of a mystical truth and a palpable absurdity.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Nineteen Eighty-Four", "slug": "nineteen-eighty-four", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four#Chapter_8", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:13" }, { "id": "fbc6d16d-b2a2-45c4-8396-f77653ff434f", "slug": "the-ministry-of-truth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four/the-ministry-of-truth", "text": "The Ministry of Truth — Minitrue, in Newspeak... was startlingly different from any other object in sight. It was an enormous pyramidal structure of glittering white concrete, soaring up, terrace after terrace, 300 metres into the air. From where Winston stood it was just possible to read, picked out on its white face in elegant lettering, the three slogans of the Party: WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Nineteen Eighty-Four", "slug": "nineteen-eighty-four", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four#Chapter_1", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:12" }, { "id": "bb58207d-b990-46be-bfec-03e8b5d8db1b", "slug": "it-was-always", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four/it-was-always", "text": "It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies and nosers-out of unorthodoxy.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Nineteen Eighty-Four", "slug": "nineteen-eighty-four", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four#Chapter_1", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:12" }, { "id": "b83a5c0f-10f2-40f5-9386-66eb294d148b", "slug": "oceania-was-at-war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four/oceania-was-at-war", "text": "Oceania was at war with Eurasia: therefore Oceania had always been at war with Eurasia. The enemy of the moment always represented absolute evil, and it followed that any past or future agreement with him was impossible.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Nineteen Eighty-Four", "slug": "nineteen-eighty-four", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "lies", "slug": "lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/lies" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four#Chapter_3", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:12" }, { "id": "16cd36d8-046a-4777-a69a-f2e02b530142", "slug": "at-the-age", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four/at-the-age", "text": "At the age of three Comrade Ogilvy had refused all toys except a drum, a sub-machine gun, and a model helicopter. At six — a year early, by a special relaxation of the rules — he had joined the Spies, at nine he had been a troop leader. At eleven he had denounced his uncle to the Thought Police after overhearing a conversation which appeared to him to have criminal tendencies. At seventeen he had been a district organizer of the Junior Anti-Sex League. At nineteen he had designed a hand-grenade which had been adopted by the Ministry of Peace and which, at its first trial, had killed thirty-one Eurasian prisoners in one burst. At twenty-three he had perished in action. Pursued by enemy jet planes while flying over the Indian Ocean with important dispatches, he had weighted his body with his machine gun and leapt out of the helicopter into deep water, dispatches and all — an end, said Big Brother, which it was impossible to contemplate without feelings of envy.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Nineteen Eighty-Four", "slug": "nineteen-eighty-four", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four#Chapter_4", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:12" }, { "id": "f4b1b7f8-5e77-43b4-8d1d-faf0a6fd0889", "slug": "the-workers-militias", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/homage-to-catalonia/the-workers-militias", "text": "The workers' militias, based on the trade unions and each composed of people of approximately the same political opinions, had the effect of canalizing into one place all the most revolutionary sentiment in the country. I had dropped more or less by chance into the only community of any size in Western Europe where political consciousness and disbelief in capitalism were more normal than their opposites.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Homage to Catalonia", "slug": "homage-to-catalonia", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/homage-to-catalonia" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Orwell#Homage_to_Catalonia_(1938)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:11" }, { "id": "c9bdd53d-dd15-44c0-a75a-8d419b2ae6c7", "slug": "it-was-queer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/homage-to-catalonia/it-was-queer", "text": "It was queer how the general spirit seemed to change when you got anywhere near the front line. All or nearly all of the vicious hatred of the political parties evaporated.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Homage to Catalonia", "slug": "homage-to-catalonia", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/homage-to-catalonia" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "war", "slug": "war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/war" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Orwell#Homage_to_Catalonia_(1938)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:11" }, { "id": "98cd2daf-8433-472a-8af4-3a81b0f9c213", "slug": "in-reality-it-was", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/homage-to-catalonia/in-reality-it-was", "text": "In reality it was the Communists above all others who prevented revolution in Spain.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Homage to Catalonia", "slug": "homage-to-catalonia", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/homage-to-catalonia" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Orwell#Homage_to_Catalonia_(1938)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:11" }, { "id": "86bf056b-4379-415a-80a7-01660119c64a", "slug": "the-communists-had", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/homage-to-catalonia/the-communists-had", "text": "The Communists had gained power and a vast increase of membership partly by appealing to the middle classes against the revolutionaries, but partly also because they were the only people who looked capable of winning the war.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Homage to Catalonia", "slug": "homage-to-catalonia", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/homage-to-catalonia" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Orwell#Homage_to_Catalonia_(1938)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:11" }, { "id": "84cdb263-1078-4492-91ee-ae158c6fb000", "slug": "f-inally-a-year", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/homage-to-catalonia/f-inally-a-year", "text": "[F]inally, a year after the outbreak of war and revolution, there remained a Government composed entirely of Right-wing Socialists, Liberals, and Communists.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Homage to Catalonia", "slug": "homage-to-catalonia", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/homage-to-catalonia" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Orwell#Homage_to_Catalonia_(1938)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:11" }, { "id": "7fe730fc-0ee1-47f8-bd01-46c39d0447ac", "slug": "in-every-country", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/homage-to-catalonia/in-every-country", "text": "In every country in the world a huge tribe of party-hacks and sleek little professors are busy 'proving' that Socialism means no more than a planned state—capitalism with the grab-motive left intact. But fortunately there also exists a vision of Socialism quite different from this. The thing that attracts ordinary men to Socialism and makes them willing to risk their skins for it, the 'mystique' of Socialism, is the idea of equality; to the vast majority of people Socialism means a classless society, or it means nothing at all.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Homage to Catalonia", "slug": "homage-to-catalonia", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/homage-to-catalonia" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Orwell#Homage_to_Catalonia_(1938)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:11" }, { "id": "55a56fb0-9089-4987-b941-a17b11ba6709", "slug": "it-seemed-queer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/homage-to-catalonia/it-seemed-queer", "text": "It seemed queer, in the barber's shop, to see the Anarchist notice still on the wall, explaining that tips were prohibited. \"The Revolution has struck off our chains,\" the notice said. I felt like telling the barbers that their chains would soon be back on again if they didn't look out.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Homage to Catalonia", "slug": "homage-to-catalonia", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/homage-to-catalonia" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "freedom", "slug": "freedom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/freedom" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Orwell#Homage_to_Catalonia_(1938)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:11" }, { "id": "43385e0f-21cf-4287-9f55-c582525817a4", "slug": "it-was-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/homage-to-catalonia/it-was-the", "text": "It was the first time that I had ever been in a town where the working class was in the saddle ... There was much in it that I did not understand, in some ways I did not even like it, but I recognized it immediately as a state of affairs worth fighting for.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Homage to Catalonia", "slug": "homage-to-catalonia", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/homage-to-catalonia" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Orwell#Homage_to_Catalonia_(1938)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:11" }, { "id": "3db7f0c5-e757-4d8d-b6f4-d0e6e21a40ee", "slug": "the-only-unexpected", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/homage-to-catalonia/the-only-unexpected", "text": "The only unexpected feature in the Spanish situation – and outside Spain it has caused an immense amount of misunderstanding – is that among the parties on the Government side the Communists stood not upon the extreme Left, but upon the extreme Right.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Homage to Catalonia", "slug": "homage-to-catalonia", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/homage-to-catalonia" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Orwell#Homage_to_Catalonia_(1938)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:11" }, { "id": "02c26670-98ce-4ac1-a496-93e1148ed4c9", "slug": "elsewhere-in-spain", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/homage-to-catalonia/elsewhere-in-spain", "text": "Elsewhere in Spain no formal unification between Socialists and Communists had taken place, but the Communist viewpoint and the Right-wing Socialist viewpoint could everywhere be regarded as identical.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Homage to Catalonia", "slug": "homage-to-catalonia", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/homage-to-catalonia" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Orwell#Homage_to_Catalonia_(1938)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:11" }, { "id": "00ce5f09-068f-4333-94f3-9a87fd057741", "slug": "the-revolutionary-atmosphere", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/homage-to-catalonia/the-revolutionary-atmosphere", "text": "The revolutionary atmosphere remained as I had first known it. General and private, peasant and militiaman, still met as equals; everyone drew the same pay, wore the same clothes, ate the same food, and called everyone else 'thou' and 'comrade'; there was no boss-class, no menial-class, no beggars, no prostitutes, no lawyers, no priests, no boot-licking, no cap-touching. I was breathing the air of equality, and I was simple enough to imagine that it existed all over Spain. I did not realize that more or less by chance I was isolated among the most revolutionary section of the Spanish working class.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Homage to Catalonia", "slug": "homage-to-catalonia", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/homage-to-catalonia" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Orwell#Homage_to_Catalonia_(1938)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:11" }, { "id": "cbc33bff-b653-4278-a7cb-e629eab50100", "slug": "after-all-its", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/keep-the-aspidistra-flying/after-all-its", "text": "After all, it's only what Marx said. Every ideology is a reflection of economic circumstances.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Keep the Aspidistra Flying", "slug": "keep-the-aspidistra-flying", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/keep-the-aspidistra-flying" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Orwell#Keep_the_Aspidistra_Flying_(1936)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:10" }, { "id": "1e06b056-a640-424e-9469-cdb31c2fbe18", "slug": "gordon-and-his", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/keep-the-aspidistra-flying/gordon-and-his", "text": "Gordon and his friends had quite an exciting time with their 'subversive ideas'. For a whole year they ran an unofficial monthly paper called the Bolshevik, duplicated with jellygraph. It advocated Socialism, free love, the dismemberment of the British Empire, the abolition of the Army and Navy, and so on and so forth. It was great fun. Every intelligent boy of sixteen is a Socialist. At that age one does not see the hook sticking out of the rather stodgy bait.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Keep the Aspidistra Flying", "slug": "keep-the-aspidistra-flying", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/keep-the-aspidistra-flying" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "youth", "slug": "youth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/youth" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Orwell#Keep_the_Aspidistra_Flying_(1936)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:10" }, { "id": "ed7bf518-9285-4698-b74a-942a79e7d74b", "slug": "but-are-there", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ernest-hemingway/for-whom-the-bell-tolls/but-are-there", "text": "'But are there not many Fascists in your country?' 'There are many who do not know they are Fascists, but will find it out when the time comes'.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ernest Hemingway", "slug": "ernest-hemingway", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ernest-hemingway" }, "book": { "title": "For Whom the Bell Tolls", "slug": "for-whom-the-bell-tolls", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ernest-hemingway/for-whom-the-bell-tolls" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 208, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ernest_Hemingway#For_Whom_the_Bell_Tolls_(1940)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:06" }, { "id": "d5956d92-9c3a-4466-a2a0-32aedb31b015", "slug": "what-i-want", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/c-s-lewis/the-screwtape-letters/what-i-want", "text": "What I want to fix your attention on is the vast, overall movement towards the discrediting, and finally the elimination, of every kind of human excellence — moral, cultural, social, or intellectual. And is it not pretty to notice how Democracy (in the incantatory sense) is now doing for us the work that was once done by the most ancient Dictatorships, and by the same methods? You remember how one of the Greek Dictators (they called them ‘tyrants’ then) sent an envoy to another Dictator to ask his advice about the principles of government. The second Dictator led the envoy into a field of corn, and there he snicked off with his cane the top of every stalk that rose an inch or so above the general level. The moral was plain. Allow no pre-eminence among your subjects. Let no man live who is wiser, or better, or more famous, or even handsomer than the mass. Cut them all down to a level; all slaves, all ciphers, all nobodies. All equals. Thus Tyrants could practise, in a sense, ‘democracy’. But now ‘democracy’ can do the same work without any other tyranny than her own. No one need now go through the field with a cane. The little stalks will now of themselves bite the tops off the big ones. The big ones are beginning to bite off their own in their desire to Be Like Stalks.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "C. S. Lewis", "slug": "c-s-lewis", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/c-s-lewis" }, "book": { "title": "The Screwtape Letters", "slug": "the-screwtape-letters", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/c-s-lewis/the-screwtape-letters" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis#The_Screwtape_Letters_(1942)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:02" }, { "id": "ec78a618-9ce6-42fe-a6a4-10587ae284bb", "slug": "the-atomic-bomb", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hg-wells/the-world-set-free/the-atomic-bomb", "text": "The atomic bomb had dwarfed the international issues to complete insignificance. When our minds wandered from the preoccupations of our immediate needs, we speculated upon the possibility of stopping the use of these frightful explosives before the world was utterly destroyed. For to us it seemed quite plain that these bombs and the still greater power of destruction of which they were the precursors might quite easily shatter every relationship and institution of mankind... war must end and that the only way to end war was to have but one government for mankind.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "H.G. Wells", "slug": "hg-wells", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hg-wells" }, "book": { "title": "The World Set Free", "slug": "the-world-set-free", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hg-wells/the-world-set-free" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "war", "slug": "war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/war" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._G._Wells#The_World_Set_Free_(1913)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:59" }, { "id": "7fc679a7-a424-4071-bcc4-d5f11c92b892", "slug": "we-do-not", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hg-wells/world-brain/we-do-not", "text": "We do not want dictators, we do not want oligarchic parties or class rule, we want a widespread world intelligence conscious of itself. To work out a way to that world brain organization is therefore our primary need in this age of imperative construction.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "H.G. Wells", "slug": "hg-wells", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hg-wells" }, "book": { "title": "World Brain", "slug": "world-brain", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hg-wells/world-brain" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._G._Wells#World_Brain_(1938)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:59" }, { "id": "0ccab916-b9a1-498c-b558-45c39729d618", "slug": "there-has-been", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hg-wells/world-brain/there-has-been", "text": "There has been ... an enormous waste of human mental and physical resources in premature revolutionary thrusts, ill-planned, dogmatic, essentially unscientific reconstructions and restorations of the social order, during the past hundred years. This was the inevitable first result of the discrediting of those old and superseded mental adaptations which were embodied in the institutions and education of the past. They discredited themselves and left the world full of problems.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "H.G. Wells", "slug": "hg-wells", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hg-wells" }, "book": { "title": "World Brain", "slug": "world-brain", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hg-wells/world-brain" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._G._Wells#World_Brain_(1938)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:59" }, { "id": "35666f12-9707-4d77-8ed1-999852d81f60", "slug": "the-anglo-saxon-genius", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hg-wells/the-invisible-man/the-anglo-saxon-genius", "text": "The Anglo-Saxon genius for parliamentary government asserted itself; there was a great deal of talk and no decisive action.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "H.G. Wells", "slug": "hg-wells", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hg-wells" }, "book": { "title": "The Invisible Man", "slug": "the-invisible-man", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hg-wells/the-invisible-man" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._G._Wells#The_Invisible_Man_(1897)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:57" }, { "id": "18455b8c-9678-40bb-aeee-1595d01a7f2d", "slug": "the-english-have", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/mahatma-gandhi/hind-swaraj/the-english-have", "text": "The English have taught us that we were not one nation before and that it will require centuries before we become one nation. This is without foundation. We were one nation before they came to India. One thought inspired us. Our mode of life was the same. It was because we were one nation that they were able to establish one kingdom. Subsequently they divided us.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Mahatma Gandhi", "slug": "mahatma-gandhi", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/mahatma-gandhi" }, "book": { "title": "Hind Swaraj", "slug": "hind-swaraj", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/mahatma-gandhi/hind-swaraj" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "homeland", "slug": "homeland", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/homeland" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi#Hind_Swaraj_(1909)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:54" }, { "id": "d92dce96-5985-4e91-b589-4cd9f0cc3ba2", "slug": "and-he-gave", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jonathan-swift/gullivers-travels/and-he-gave", "text": "And he gave it for his opinion, that whosoever could make two ears of corn or two blades of grass to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put together.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jonathan Swift", "slug": "jonathan-swift", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jonathan-swift" }, "book": { "title": "Gulliver's Travels", "slug": "gullivers-travels", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jonathan-swift/gullivers-travels" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jonathan_Swift#Gulliver's_Travels_(1726)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:50" }, { "id": "213e3e89-83ce-434a-a9a8-f1951b2942b3", "slug": "he-who-first", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thomas-carlyle/sartor-resartus/he-who-first", "text": "He who first shortened the labor of copyists by device of movable types was disbanding hired armies, and cashiering most kings and senates, and creating a whole new democratic world: he had invented the art of printing.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Thomas Carlyle", "slug": "thomas-carlyle", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thomas-carlyle" }, "book": { "title": "Sartor Resartus", "slug": "sartor-resartus", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thomas-carlyle/sartor-resartus" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Carlyle#Sartor_Resartus_(1833%E2%80%931834)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:44" }, { "id": "8a589130-916e-4de4-9aa2-98f31e5fccd6", "slug": "indeed-when-a-ruler", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/tacitus/the-histories/indeed-when-a-ruler", "text": "Indeed, when a ruler once becomes unpopular, all his acts, be they good or bad, tell against him.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Tacitus", "slug": "tacitus", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/tacitus" }, "book": { "title": "The Histories", "slug": "the-histories", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/tacitus/the-histories" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tacitus#Histories_(100-110)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:43" }, { "id": "7ebd252f-3a3f-42aa-a16d-45baabb12653", "slug": "the-same-timid", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon/the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire/the-same-timid", "text": "The same timid policy, of dividing whatever is united, of reducing whatever is eminent, of dreading every active power, and of expecting that the most feeble will be the most obedient, seems to pervade the institutions of several princes, and particularly those of Constantine.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edward Gibbon", "slug": "edward-gibbon", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon" }, "book": { "title": "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", "slug": "the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon/the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Gibbon#The_History_of_the_Decline_And_Fall_Of_The_Roman_Empire_(1776%E2%80%931788)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:42" }, { "id": "7bdbcbb5-42e4-4707-b677-22e38f8968e7", "slug": "when-gallienus-received", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon/the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire/when-gallienus-received", "text": "When Gallienus received the intelligence that his capital was delivered from the barbarians, he was much less delighted than alarmed with the courage of the senate, since it might one day prompt them to rescue the public from domestic tyranny as well as from foreign invasion. His timid ingratitude was published to his subjects, in an edict which prohibited the senators from exercising any military employment, and even from approaching the camps of the legions. But his fears were groundless. The rich and luxurious nobles, sinking into their natural character, accepted, as a favor, this disgraceful exemption from military service; and as long as they were indulged in the enjoyment of their baths, their theatres, and their villas, they cheerfully resigned the more dangerous cares of empire to the rough hands of peasants and soldiers.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edward Gibbon", "slug": "edward-gibbon", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon" }, "book": { "title": "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", "slug": "the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon/the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Gibbon#The_History_of_the_Decline_And_Fall_Of_The_Roman_Empire_(1776%E2%80%931788)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:42" }, { "id": "45446fa5-8b83-4996-93d0-5d1852b95a6f", "slug": "the-divided-administration", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon/the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire/the-divided-administration", "text": "The divided administration, which had been formed by Constantine, relaxed the vigour of the state, while it secured the tranquility of the monarch.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edward Gibbon", "slug": "edward-gibbon", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon" }, "book": { "title": "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", "slug": "the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon/the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Gibbon#The_History_of_the_Decline_And_Fall_Of_The_Roman_Empire_(1776%E2%80%931788)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:42" }, { "id": "17e34936-aff9-46fd-b820-0b0c3fd4af67", "slug": "some-particular-instances", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon/the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire/some-particular-instances", "text": "Some particular instances may occur of eunuchs distinguished by their fidelity, their valour, and their abilities; but if we examine the general history of Persia, India, and China, we shall find that the power of the eunuchs has uniformly marked the decline and fall of every dynasty.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edward Gibbon", "slug": "edward-gibbon", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon" }, "book": { "title": "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", "slug": "the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon/the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "history", "slug": "history", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/history" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Gibbon#The_History_of_the_Decline_And_Fall_Of_The_Roman_Empire_(1776%E2%80%931788)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:42" }, { "id": "e88603f9-f0b1-4311-b613-591fcb09949d", "slug": "the-true-interest", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon/the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire/the-true-interest", "text": "The true interest of an absolute monarch generally coincides with that of his people. Their numbers, their wealth, their order, and their security, are the best and only foundations of his real greatness; and were he totally devoid of virtue, prudence might supply its place, and would dictate the same rule of conduct.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edward Gibbon", "slug": "edward-gibbon", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon" }, "book": { "title": "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", "slug": "the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon/the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Gibbon#The_History_of_the_Decline_And_Fall_Of_The_Roman_Empire_(1776%E2%80%931788)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:41" }, { "id": "ccf9b772-d660-4446-822b-1621efaab1fd", "slug": "it-has-been", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon/the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire/it-has-been", "text": "It has been calculated by the ablest politicians that no State, without being soon exhausted, can maintain above the hundredth part of its members in arms and idleness.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edward Gibbon", "slug": "edward-gibbon", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon" }, "book": { "title": "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", "slug": "the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon/the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Gibbon#The_History_of_the_Decline_And_Fall_Of_The_Roman_Empire_(1776%E2%80%931788)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:41" }, { "id": "c3b446ba-8d89-4ee5-879e-88cdcec30f56", "slug": "the-principles-of-a-free", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon/the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire/the-principles-of-a-free", "text": "The principles of a free constitution are irrecoverably lost, when the legislative power is nominated by the executive.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edward Gibbon", "slug": "edward-gibbon", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon" }, "book": { "title": "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", "slug": "the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon/the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "freedom", "slug": "freedom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/freedom" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Gibbon#The_History_of_the_Decline_And_Fall_Of_The_Roman_Empire_(1776%E2%80%931788)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:41" }, { "id": "9c4a4443-89e5-4c35-9d6c-b0924f8320a2", "slug": "civil-governments-in-their", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon/the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire/civil-governments-in-their", "text": "Civil governments, in their first institutions, are voluntary associations for mutual defence.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edward Gibbon", "slug": "edward-gibbon", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon" }, "book": { "title": "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", "slug": "the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon/the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Gibbon#The_History_of_the_Decline_And_Fall_Of_The_Roman_Empire_(1776%E2%80%931788)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:41" }, { "id": "229b7f2c-23d9-43f0-9e70-44dcb19d555d", "slug": "it-was-dangerous", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon/the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire/it-was-dangerous", "text": "It was dangerous to trust the sincerity of Augustus; to seem to distrust it was still more dangerous.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edward Gibbon", "slug": "edward-gibbon", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon" }, "book": { "title": "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", "slug": "the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-gibbon/the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Gibbon#The_History_of_the_Decline_And_Fall_Of_The_Roman_Empire_(1776%E2%80%931788)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:41" }, { "id": "fc06923f-de0d-4fe5-bf6e-4fad711e880a", "slug": "the-science-of-government", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france/the-science-of-government", "text": "The science of government being, therefore, so practical in itself, and intended for such practical purposes, a matter which requires experience, and even more experience than any person can gain in his whole life, however sagacious and observing he may be, it is with infinite caution that any man ought to venture upon pulling down an edifice which has answered in any tolerable degree for ages the common purposes of society, or on building it up again without having models and patterns of approved utility before his eyes.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edmund Burke", "slug": "edmund-burke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke" }, "book": { "title": "Reflections on the Revolution in France", "slug": "reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "change", "slug": "change", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/change" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke#Reflections_on_the_Revolution_in_France_(1790)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:39" }, { "id": "f9da6528-8257-4d84-8777-e17e2bb57a7b", "slug": "france-has-always", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france/france-has-always", "text": "France has always more or less influenced manners in England; and when your fountain is choked up and polluted, the stream will not run long, or not run clear, with us, or perhaps with any nation. This gives all Europe, in my opinion, but too close and connected a concern in what is done in France. Excuse me, therefore, if I have dwelt too long on the atrocious spectacle of the 6th of October, 1789, or have given too much scope to the reflections which have arisen in my mind on occasion of the most important of all revolutions, which may be dated from that day, I mean a revolution in sentiments, manners, and moral opinions.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edmund Burke", "slug": "edmund-burke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke" }, "book": { "title": "Reflections on the Revolution in France", "slug": "reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke#Reflections_on_the_Revolution_in_France_(1790)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:39" }, { "id": "f633a2bc-8a64-46c6-a8e5-e2768e9efd58", "slug": "when-the-leaders", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france/when-the-leaders", "text": "When the leaders choose to make themselves bidders at an auction of popularity, their talents, in the construction of the state, will be of no service. They will become flatterers instead of legislators; the instruments, not the guides, of the people.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edmund Burke", "slug": "edmund-burke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke" }, "book": { "title": "Reflections on the Revolution in France", "slug": "reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke#Reflections_on_the_Revolution_in_France_(1790)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:39" }, { "id": "e54b8ccd-7446-48af-8d21-0af0c6b94648", "slug": "where-popular-authority", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france/where-popular-authority", "text": "Where popular authority is absolute and unrestrained, the people have an infinitely greater, because a far better founded, confidence in their own power. They are themselves, in a great measure, their own instruments. They are nearer to their objects. Besides, they are less under responsibility to one of the greatest controlling powers on the earth, the sense of fame and estimation. The share of infamy that is likely to fall to the lot of each individual in public acts is small indeed; the operation of opinion being in the inverse ratio to the number of those who abuse power. Their own approbation of their own acts has to them the appearance of a public judgment in their favor. A perfect democracy is, therefore, the most shameless thing in the world. As it is the most shameless, it is also the most fearless. No man apprehends in his person that he can be made subject to punishment.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edmund Burke", "slug": "edmund-burke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke" }, "book": { "title": "Reflections on the Revolution in France", "slug": "reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke#Reflections_on_the_Revolution_in_France_(1790)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:39" }, { "id": "ba694151-a4da-42f3-ba36-adee3a1dd5c4", "slug": "society-is-indeed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france/society-is-indeed", "text": "Society is indeed a contract. Subordinate contracts for objects of mere occasional interest may be dissolved at pleasure — but the state ought not to be considered as nothing better than a partnership agreement in a trade of pepper and coffee, calico or tobacco, or some other such low concern, to be taken up for a little temporary interest, and to be dissolved by the fancy of the parties. It is to be looked on with other reverence; because it is not a partnership in things subservient only to the gross animal existence of a temporary and perishable nature. It is a partnership in all science; a partnership in all art; a partnership in every virtue, and in all perfection. As the ends of such a partnership cannot be obtained in many generations, it becomes a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born. Each contract of each particular state is but a clause in the great primaeval contract of eternal society, linking the lower with the higher natures, connecting the visible and the invisible world, according to a fixed compact sanctioned by the inviolable oath which holds all physical and all moral natures, each in their appointed place. This law is not subject to the will of those, who by an obligation above them, and infinitely superior, are bound to submit their will to that law. The municipal corporations of that universal kingdom are not morally at liberty at their pleasure, and on their speculations of a contingent improvement, wholly to separate and tear asunder the bands of their subordinate community, and to dissolve it into an unsocial, uncivil, unconnected chaos of elementary principles. It is the first and supreme necessity only, a necessity that is not chosen, but chooses, a necessity paramount to deliberation, that admits no discussion, and demands no evidence, which alone can justify a resort to anarchy. This necessity is no exception to the rule; because this necessity itself is a part too of that moral and physical disposition of things, to which man must be obedient by consent or force: but if that which is only submission to necessity should be made the object of choice, the law is broken, nature is disobeyed, and the rebellious are outlawed, cast forth, and exiled, from this world of reason, and order, and peace, and virtue, and fruitful penitence, into the antagonist world of madness, discord, vice, confusion, and unavailing sorrow.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edmund Burke", "slug": "edmund-burke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke" }, "book": { "title": "Reflections on the Revolution in France", "slug": "reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke#Reflections_on_the_Revolution_in_France_(1790)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:39" }, { "id": "9e2ac5b0-bae3-4849-906e-8963bbbe7219", "slug": "you-had-that", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france/you-had-that", "text": "You had that action and counteraction which, in the natural and in the political world, from the reciprocal struggle of discordant powers draws out the harmony of the universe.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edmund Burke", "slug": "edmund-burke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke" }, "book": { "title": "Reflections on the Revolution in France", "slug": "reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 277, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke#Reflections_on_the_Revolution_in_France_(1790)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:39" }, { "id": "832bdb92-2afc-40f4-914a-f1438b3bef1f", "slug": "some-decent-regulated", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france/some-decent-regulated", "text": "Some decent regulated pre-eminence, some preference (not exclusive appropriation) given to birth, is neither unnatural, nor unjust, nor impolitic.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edmund Burke", "slug": "edmund-burke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke" }, "book": { "title": "Reflections on the Revolution in France", "slug": "reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke#Reflections_on_the_Revolution_in_France_(1790)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:39" }, { "id": "7ddd102d-db39-4ed8-b7c2-da0f690aa9b4", "slug": "whatever-is-supreme", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france/whatever-is-supreme", "text": "Whatever is supreme in a state, ought to have, as much as possible, its judicial authority so constituted as not only not to depend upon it, but in some sort to balance it. It ought to give a security to its justice against its power. It ought to make its judicature, as it were, something exterior to the state.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edmund Burke", "slug": "edmund-burke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke" }, "book": { "title": "Reflections on the Revolution in France", "slug": "reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "justice", "slug": "justice", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/justice" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke#Reflections_on_the_Revolution_in_France_(1790)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:39" }, { "id": "40259de7-b315-4a7b-b0a5-baaf6bd3b25d", "slug": "the-pretended-rights", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france/the-pretended-rights", "text": "The pretended rights of these theorists are all extremes: and in proportion as they are metaphysically true, they are morally and politically false. The rights of men are in a sort of middle, incapable of definition, but not impossible to be discerned. The rights of men in government are their advantages; and these are often in balances between differences of good; in compromises between good and evil, and sometimes between evil and evil. Political reason is a computing principle: adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing, morally and not metaphysically or mathematically, true moral denominations.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edmund Burke", "slug": "edmund-burke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke" }, "book": { "title": "Reflections on the Revolution in France", "slug": "reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke#Reflections_on_the_Revolution_in_France_(1790)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:39" }, { "id": "fb678e76-6392-4bd3-baa3-22856ac36730", "slug": "justice-is-itself", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france/justice-is-itself", "text": "Justice is itself the great standing policy of civil society; and any eminent departure from it, under any circumstances, lies under the suspicion of being no policy at all.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edmund Burke", "slug": "edmund-burke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke" }, "book": { "title": "Reflections on the Revolution in France", "slug": "reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "justice", "slug": "justice", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/justice" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke#Reflections_on_the_Revolution_in_France_(1790)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:38" }, { "id": "f53c595d-48ea-41cd-ae4f-2eeeb67de227", "slug": "in-this-choice", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france/in-this-choice", "text": "In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood, binding up the constitution of our country with our dearest domestic ties, adopting our fundamental laws into the bosom of our family affections, keeping inseparable and cherishing with the warmth of all their combined and mutually reflected charities our state, our hearths, our sepulchres, and our altars.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edmund Burke", "slug": "edmund-burke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke" }, "book": { "title": "Reflections on the Revolution in France", "slug": "reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke#Reflections_on_the_Revolution_in_France_(1790)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:38" }, { "id": "e7b7da08-7dae-4c59-b2e5-ace8736472fe", "slug": "i-cannot-conceive", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france/i-cannot-conceive", "text": "I cannot conceive how any man can have brought himself to that pitch of presumption, to consider his country as nothing but carte blanche, upon which he may scribble whatever he pleases.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edmund Burke", "slug": "edmund-burke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke" }, "book": { "title": "Reflections on the Revolution in France", "slug": "reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 231, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "pride", "slug": "pride", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pride" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke#Reflections_on_the_Revolution_in_France_(1790)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:38" }, { "id": "e225a48c-6eb9-4333-9336-7254e9c7532e", "slug": "circumstances-which-with", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france/circumstances-which-with", "text": "Circumstances (which with some gentlemen pass for nothing) give in reality to every political principle its distinguishing colour, and discriminating effect. The circumstances are what render every civil and political scheme beneficial or noxious to mankind.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edmund Burke", "slug": "edmund-burke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke" }, "book": { "title": "Reflections on the Revolution in France", "slug": "reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke#Reflections_on_the_Revolution_in_France_(1790)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:38" }, { "id": "d95d1b75-9f1c-4bf3-a41a-885dc1c2f2cb", "slug": "cimourdain-was-one", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/victor-hugo/ninety-three/cimourdain-was-one", "text": "Cimourdain was one of those men who have a voice within them, and who listen to it. Such men seem absent-minded; they are not; they are all attention. Cimourdain knew everything and nothing. He knew everything about science, and nothing at all about life. Hence his inflexibility. His eyes were bandaged like Homer's Themis. He had the blind certainty of the arrow, which sees only the mark and flies to it. In a revolution, nothing is more terrible than a straight line. Cimourdain went straight ahead, as sure as fate. Cimourdain believed that, in social geneses, the extreme point is the solid earth; an error peculiar to minds which replace reason with logic.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Victor Hugo", "slug": "victor-hugo", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/victor-hugo" }, "book": { "title": "Ninety-Three", "slug": "ninety-three", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/victor-hugo/ninety-three" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Victor_Hugo#Ninety-Three_(1874)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:38" }, { "id": "d6a33284-93e1-4146-8d1d-0a2b58697fc4", "slug": "politics-and-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france/politics-and-the", "text": "Politics and the pulpit are terms that have little agreement.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edmund Burke", "slug": "edmund-burke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke" }, "book": { "title": "Reflections on the Revolution in France", "slug": "reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "religion", "slug": "religion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/religion" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke#Reflections_on_the_Revolution_in_France_(1790)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:38" }, { "id": "d3709ada-bff8-4608-9f4f-1670061d80fc", "slug": "if-the-people", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france/if-the-people", "text": "If the people are happy, united, wealthy, and powerful, we presume the rest. We conclude that to be good from whence good is derived.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edmund Burke", "slug": "edmund-burke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke" }, "book": { "title": "Reflections on the Revolution in France", "slug": "reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke#Reflections_on_the_Revolution_in_France_(1790)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:38" }, { "id": "d34178d5-dcc2-4436-a07d-751c758b9b26", "slug": "kings-will-be-tyrants", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france/kings-will-be-tyrants", "text": "Kings will be tyrants from policy, when subjects are rebels from principle.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edmund Burke", "slug": "edmund-burke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke" }, "book": { "title": "Reflections on the Revolution in France", "slug": "reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 334, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke#Reflections_on_the_Revolution_in_France_(1790)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:38" }, { "id": "b3fdf784-daae-4268-84ec-79fc1aabcb53", "slug": "government-is-a-contrivance", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france/government-is-a-contrivance", "text": "Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants. Men have a right that these wants should be provided for by this wisdom.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edmund Burke", "slug": "edmund-burke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke" }, "book": { "title": "Reflections on the Revolution in France", "slug": "reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke#Reflections_on_the_Revolution_in_France_(1790)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:38" }, { "id": "89c7f95e-01a1-4299-a1b4-628809ad1d76", "slug": "in-their-nomination", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france/in-their-nomination", "text": "In their nomination to office they will not appoint to the exercise of authority as to a pitiful job, but as to a holy function.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edmund Burke", "slug": "edmund-burke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke" }, "book": { "title": "Reflections on the Revolution in France", "slug": "reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 356, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke#Reflections_on_the_Revolution_in_France_(1790)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:38" }, { "id": "7b06bc65-7942-4e7f-8968-7275c7104c67", "slug": "a-state-without", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france/a-state-without", "text": "A state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edmund Burke", "slug": "edmund-burke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke" }, "book": { "title": "Reflections on the Revolution in France", "slug": "reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "change", "slug": "change", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/change" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke#Reflections_on_the_Revolution_in_France_(1790)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:38" }, { "id": "5c89c20d-2e8b-496c-a5d2-1eb2240943f9", "slug": "to-execute-laws", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france/to-execute-laws", "text": "To execute laws is a royal office; to execute orders is not to be a king. However, a political executive magistracy, though merely such, is a great trust.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edmund Burke", "slug": "edmund-burke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke" }, "book": { "title": "Reflections on the Revolution in France", "slug": "reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 497, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke#Reflections_on_the_Revolution_in_France_(1790)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:38" }, { "id": "2de1f965-35a1-43c6-a2f5-51986d4b24f6", "slug": "it-is-now", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france/it-is-now", "text": "It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the Queen of France, then the Dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she just began to move in—glittering like the morning star, full of life, and splendor, and joy. Oh! what a Revolution! And what a heart must I have to contemplate without emotion that elevation and that fall! Little did I dream when she added titles of veneration to those of enthusiastic, distant, respectful love, that she should ever be obliged to carry the sharp antidote against disgrace concealed in that bosom; little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fallen upon her in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor, and of cavaliers. I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards to avenge even a look that threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone. That of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded; and the glory of Europe is extinguished for ever.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edmund Burke", "slug": "edmund-burke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke" }, "book": { "title": "Reflections on the Revolution in France", "slug": "reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 331, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "transience", "slug": "transience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/transience" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke#Reflections_on_the_Revolution_in_France_(1790)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:38" }, { "id": "29deb7dc-ff90-40be-a9d9-a09711c5bfdb", "slug": "it-shews-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france/it-shews-the", "text": "It shews the anxiety of the great men who influenced the conduct of affairs at that great event, to make the Revolution a parent of settlement, and not a nursery of future revolutions.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edmund Burke", "slug": "edmund-burke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke" }, "book": { "title": "Reflections on the Revolution in France", "slug": "reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke#Reflections_on_the_Revolution_in_France_(1790)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:38" }, { "id": "00e723d3-daf5-4afc-a5c3-e5c142de3f33", "slug": "a-man-full", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france/a-man-full", "text": "A man full of warm, speculative benevolence may wish his society otherwise constituted than he finds it, but a good patriot and a true politician always considers how he shall make the most of the existing materials of his country. A disposition to preserve and an ability to improve, taken together, would be my standard of a statesman. Everything else is vulgar in the conception, perilous in the execution.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edmund Burke", "slug": "edmund-burke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke" }, "book": { "title": "Reflections on the Revolution in France", "slug": "reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-burke/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke#Reflections_on_the_Revolution_in_France_(1790)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:38" }, { "id": "989be10b-e928-4969-a39c-2c8db587b507", "slug": "it-is-amusing-to", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/g-chesterton/heretics/it-is-amusing-to", "text": "It is amusing to think how much conservative ingenuity has been wasted in the defence of the House of Lords by men who were desperately endeavouring to prove that the House of Lords consisted of clever men. There is one really good defence of the House of Lords, though admirers of the peerage are strangely coy about using it; and that is, that the House of Lords, in its full and proper strength, consists of stupid men. It really would be a plausible defence of that otherwise indefensible body to point out that the clever men in the Commons, who owed their power to cleverness, ought in the last resort to be checked by the average man in the Lords, who owed their power to accident. Of course, there would be many answers to such a contention, as, for instance, that the House of Lords is largely no longer a House of Lords, but a House of tradesmen and financiers, or that the bulk of the commonplace nobility do not vote, and so leave the chamber to the prigs and the specialists and the mad old gentlemen with hobbies. But on some occasions the House of Lords, even under all these disadvantages, is in some sense representative. When all the peers flocked together to vote against Mr. Gladstone's second Home Rule Bill, for instance, those who said that the peers represented the English people, were perfectly right. All those dear old men who happened to be born peers were at that moment, and upon that question, the precise counterpart of all the dear old men who happened to be born paupers or middle-class gentlemen. That mob of peers did really represent the English people--that is to say, it was honest, ignorant, vaguely excited, almost unanimous, and obviously wrong. Of course, rational democracy is better as an expression of the public will than the haphazard hereditary method. While we are about having any kind of democracy, let it be rational democracy. But if we are to have any kind of oligarchy, let it be irrational oligarchy. Then at least we shall be ruled by men.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "G. Chesterton", "slug": "g-chesterton", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/g-chesterton" }, "book": { "title": "Heretics", "slug": "heretics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/g-chesterton/heretics" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Heretics_(book)#Chapter_XIX:_%22Slum_Novelists_and_the_Slums%22", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:35" }, { "id": "3d86a6ea-615f-43fc-869d-e125a62f8a3a", "slug": "it-is-amusing", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/g-chesterton/heretics/it-is-amusing", "text": "It is amusing to think how much conservative ingenuity has been wasted in the defence of the House of Lords by men who were desperately endeavouring to prove that the House of Lords consisted of clever men. There is one really good defence of the House of Lords [...] and that is, that the House of Lords, in its full and proper strength, consists of stupid men. It really would be a plausible defence of that otherwise indefensible body to point out that the clever men in the Commons, who owed their power to cleverness, ought in the last resort to be checked by the average man in the Lords, who owed their power to accident.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "G. Chesterton", "slug": "g-chesterton", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/g-chesterton" }, "book": { "title": "Heretics", "slug": "heretics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/g-chesterton/heretics" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/G._K._Chesterton#Heretics_(1905)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:33" }, { "id": "ed8cb0d3-84c4-4c14-971f-d4ae03677aad", "slug": "i-well-knew", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-stuart-mill/autobiography/i-well-knew", "text": "I well knew that to propose something which would be called extreme, was the true way not to impede but to facilitate a more moderate experiment.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Stuart Mill", "slug": "john-stuart-mill", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-stuart-mill" }, "book": { "title": "Autobiography", "slug": "autobiography", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-stuart-mill/autobiography" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 294, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Stuart_Mill#Ch._7:_General_View_of_the_Remainder_of_My_Life.", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:32" }, { "id": "857af59f-6eaf-47a2-bd6f-697ec578bb94", "slug": "it-is-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-stuart-mill/autobiography/it-is-the", "text": "It is the character of the British people, or at least of the higher and middle classes who pass muster for the British people, that to induce them to approve of any change, it is necessary that they should look upon it as a middle course: they think every proposal extreme and violent unless they hear of some other proposal going still farther, upon which their antipathy to extreme views may discharge itself. So it proved in the present instance; my proposal was condemned, but any scheme for Irish Land reform, short of mine, came to be thought moderate by comparison.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Stuart Mill", "slug": "john-stuart-mill", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-stuart-mill" }, "book": { "title": "Autobiography", "slug": "autobiography", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-stuart-mill/autobiography" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 294, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "change", "slug": "change", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/change" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Stuart_Mill#Ch._7:_General_View_of_the_Remainder_of_My_Life.", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:32" }, { "id": "d9095616-960d-4531-8870-9368363ef13a", "slug": "the-writers-by-whom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-stuart-mill/autobiography/the-writers-by-whom", "text": "The writers by whom, more than by any others, a new mode of political thinking was brought home to me, were those of the St. Simonian school in France. In 1829 and 1830 I became acquainted with some of their writings. They were then only in the earlier stages of their speculations. They had not yet dressed out their philosophy as a religion, nor had they organized their scheme of Socialism. They were just beginning to question the principle of hereditary property. I was by no means prepared to go with them even this length; but I was greatly struck with the connected view which they for the first time presented to me, of the natural order of human progress; and especially with their division of all history into organic periods and critical periods.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Stuart Mill", "slug": "john-stuart-mill", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-stuart-mill" }, "book": { "title": "Autobiography", "slug": "autobiography", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-stuart-mill/autobiography" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 163, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Stuart_Mill#Ch._5:_A_Crisis_in_My_Mental_History._One_Stage_Onward.", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:31" }, { "id": "a689b0c6-da31-4748-b51f-741aac14165c", "slug": "that-the-human", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-stuart-mill/autobiography/that-the-human", "text": "That the human mind has a certain order of possible progress, in which some things must precede others, an order which governments and public instructors can modify to some, but not to an unlimited extent: that all questions of political institutions are relative, not absolute, and that different stages of human progress not only will have, but ought to have, different institutions: That government is always either in the hands, or passing into the hands, of whatever is the strongest power in society, and that what this power is, does not depend on institutions, but institutions on it: That any general theory or philosophy of politics supposes a previous theory of human progress, and that this is the same thing with a philosophy of history.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Stuart Mill", "slug": "john-stuart-mill", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-stuart-mill" }, "book": { "title": "Autobiography", "slug": "autobiography", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-stuart-mill/autobiography" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 162, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Stuart_Mill#Ch._5:_A_Crisis_in_My_Mental_History._One_Stage_Onward.", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:31" }, { "id": "5541dc54-83e6-4d2e-b24b-60a4195b64a5", "slug": "i-thought-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-stuart-mill/autobiography/i-thought-the", "text": "I thought the predominance of the aristocratic classes, the noble and the rich, in the English Constitution, an evil worth any struggle to get rid of; not on account of taxes, or any such comparatively small inconvenience, but as the great demoralizing agency in the country. Demoralizing, first, because it made the conduct of the government an example of gross public immorality, through the predominance of private over public interests in the State, and the abuse of the powers of legislation for the advantage of classes. Secondly, and in a still greater degree, because the respect of the multitude always attaching itself principally to that which, in the existing state of society, is the chief passport to power; and under English institutions, riches, hereditary or acquired, being the almost exclusive source of political importance; riches, and the signs of riches, were almost the only things really respected, and the life of the people was mainly devoted to the pursuit of them. I thought, that while the higher and richer classes held the power of government, the instruction and improvement of the mass of the people were contrary to the self-interest of those classes, because tending to render the people more powerful for throwing off the yoke: but if the democracy obtained a large, and perhaps the principal, share in the governing power, it would become the interest of the opulent classes to promote their education, in order to ward off really mischievous errors, and especially those which would lead to unjust violations of property. On these grounds I was not only as ardent as ever for democratic institutions, but earnestly hoped that Owenite, St. Simonian, and all other anti-property doctrines might spread widely among the poorer classes; not that I thought those doctrines true, or desired that they should be acted on, but in order that the higher classes might be made to see that they had more to fear from the poor when uneducated, than when educated.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Stuart Mill", "slug": "john-stuart-mill", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-stuart-mill" }, "book": { "title": "Autobiography", "slug": "autobiography", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-stuart-mill/autobiography" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 171, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Stuart_Mill#Ch._5:_A_Crisis_in_My_Mental_History._One_Stage_Onward.", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:31" }, { "id": "178f9eb1-905d-4ad5-86da-1fe6a2cf72ab", "slug": "m-comte-soon", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-stuart-mill/autobiography/m-comte-soon", "text": "M. Comte soon left the St. Simonians, and I lost sight of him and his writings for a number of years. But the St. Simonians I continued to cultivate. I was kept au courant of their progress by one of their most enthusiastic disciples, M. ... I was introduced to their chiefs, Bazard and Enfantin, in 1830; and as long as their public teachings and proselytism continued, I read nearly everything they wrote. Their criticisms on the common doctrines of Liberalism seemed to me full of important truth; and it was partly by their writings that my eyes were opened to the very limited and temporary value of the old political economy, which assumes private property and inheritance as indefeasible facts, and freedom of production and exchange as the dernier mot of social improvement. The scheme gradually unfolded by the St. Simonians, under which the labour and capital of society would be managed for the general account of the community every individual being required to take a share of labour either as thinker, teacher, artist, or producer, all being classed according to their capacity, and remunerated according to their works, appeared to me a far superior description of Socialism to Owen's.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Stuart Mill", "slug": "john-stuart-mill", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-stuart-mill" }, "book": { "title": "Autobiography", "slug": "autobiography", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-stuart-mill/autobiography" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 166, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Stuart_Mill#Ch._5:_A_Crisis_in_My_Mental_History._One_Stage_Onward.", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:31" }, { "id": "bf561f56-ddf8-4ed4-bd01-78755fc994f7", "slug": "how-did-you", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/larry-niven/protector/how-did-you", "text": "“How did you come to represent the belt?” “Aptitude tests said I had a high IQ and liked ordering people around. From there I worked my way up.” “We go by the vote.” “Popularity contests.” “It works. But it does have drawbacks. What government doesn’t?”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Larry Niven", "slug": "larry-niven", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/larry-niven" }, "book": { "title": "Protector", "slug": "protector", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/larry-niven/protector" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 57, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Larry_Niven#Protector_(1973)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:29" }, { "id": "283dc9fa-7cac-42e6-9577-0e73902b4601", "slug": "i-thought-about", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/larry-niven/flatlander/i-thought-about", "text": "I thought about it and got cold chills. Assassination is already a recognized branch of politics. If this got out—But that was the trouble; someone seemed to have thought of it already. If not, someone would. Someone always did.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Larry Niven", "slug": "larry-niven", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/larry-niven" }, "book": { "title": "Flatlander", "slug": "flatlander", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/larry-niven/flatlander" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 171, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Larry_Niven#Flatlander_(1995)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:28" }, { "id": "b3828b54-b005-484f-a66d-c44200720ffe", "slug": "on-the-fifth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/terry-pratchett/the-carpet-people/on-the-fifth", "text": "On the fifth day the Governor of the town called all the tribal chieftains to an audience in the market square, to hear their grievances. He didn't always do anything about them, but at least they got heard, and he nodded a lot, and everyone felt better about it at least until they got home. This is politics.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Terry Pratchett", "slug": "terry-pratchett", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/terry-pratchett" }, "book": { "title": "The Carpet People", "slug": "the-carpet-people", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/terry-pratchett/the-carpet-people" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Terry_Pratchett#The_Carpet_People_(1971%3B_1992)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:26" }, { "id": "f54d52bd-9e4a-4075-aaf3-e6e833493fd3", "slug": "there-are-no-nations", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov/i-asimov/there-are-no-nations", "text": "There are no nations! There is only humanity. And if we don’t come to understand that right soon, there will be no nations, because there will be no humanity.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Isaac Asimov", "slug": "isaac-asimov", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov" }, "book": { "title": "I, Asimov", "slug": "i-asimov", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov/i-asimov" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 421, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov#I._Asimov:_A_Memoir_(1994)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:25" }, { "id": "d70dbaf9-ebc0-4b33-bc7d-626dd7a6614e", "slug": "when-israel-was", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov/i-asimov/when-israel-was", "text": "When Israel was first founded in 1948 and all my Jewish friends were jubilant, I was the skeleton at the feast. I said, ‘“We are building ourselves a ghetto. We will be surrounded by tens of millions of Muslims who will never forgive, never forget, and never go away.” I was right.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Isaac Asimov", "slug": "isaac-asimov", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov" }, "book": { "title": "I, Asimov", "slug": "i-asimov", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov/i-asimov" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 420, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "history", "slug": "history", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/history" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov#I._Asimov:_A_Memoir_(1994)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:25" }, { "id": "cdedd18c-c6b7-434f-9ccb-08c3d97d9849", "slug": "as-the-reagan", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov/i-asimov/as-the-reagan", "text": "As the Reagan administration continued to transfer funds from hospitals and other much-needed social institutions into the pockets of arms manufacturers and politicians, working conditions grew steadily worse.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Isaac Asimov", "slug": "isaac-asimov", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov" }, "book": { "title": "I, Asimov", "slug": "i-asimov", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov/i-asimov" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 487, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov#I._Asimov:_A_Memoir_(1994)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:25" }, { "id": "0c3f9b39-afca-4b3d-9b19-9aac567ba965", "slug": "he-robert-a-heinlein", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov/i-asimov/he-robert-a-heinlein", "text": "He (Robert A. Heinlein) always pictured himself a libertarian, which to my way of thinking means “I want the liberty to grow rich and you can have the liberty to starve.” It’s easy to believe that no one should depend on society for help when you yourself happen not to need such help.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Isaac Asimov", "slug": "isaac-asimov", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov" }, "book": { "title": "I, Asimov", "slug": "i-asimov", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov/i-asimov" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 311, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "freedom", "slug": "freedom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/freedom" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov#I._Asimov:_A_Memoir_(1994)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:25" }, { "id": "5c1d55dc-3b6e-4b43-b202-e033461b63dd", "slug": "but-its-been", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov/prelude-to-foundation/but-its-been", "text": "“But it’s been quiet under Cleon. And we’ve had fifty years of peace.” “Yes, but soldiers who are well-paid would resent having that pay reduced just because there is peace. Admirals resist mothballing ships and having themselves reduced in rank simply because there is less for them to do. So the credits still go—unproductively—to the armed forces and vital areas of the social good are allowed to deteriorate. That’s what I call decay. Don’t you?”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Isaac Asimov", "slug": "isaac-asimov", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov" }, "book": { "title": "Prelude to Foundation", "slug": "prelude-to-foundation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov/prelude-to-foundation" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 71, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov#Prelude_to_Foundation_(1988)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:23" }, { "id": "83ed29f1-b7d8-4935-a965-df6baccb5abd", "slug": "when-the-twenty-seven", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov/foundation-and-empire/when-the-twenty-seven", "text": "“When the twenty-seven independent Trading Worlds, united only by their distrust of mother planet of the Foundation, concert an assembly among themselves, and each is big with a pride grown of its smallness, hardened by its own insularity and embittered by eternal danger — there are preliminary negotiations to be overcome of a pettiness sufficiently staggering to heart-sicken the most persevering.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Isaac Asimov", "slug": "isaac-asimov", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov" }, "book": { "title": "Foundation and Empire", "slug": "foundation-and-empire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov/foundation-and-empire" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov#Foundation_and_Empire_(1952)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:22" }, { "id": "fbd02dbc-5bec-4bea-8e39-c45a6984c132", "slug": "the-fall-of-empire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov/foundation/the-fall-of-empire", "text": "The fall of Empire, gentlemen, is a massive thing, however, and not easily fought. It is dictated by a rising bureaucracy, a receding initiative, a freezing of caste, a damming of curiosity — a hundred other factors. It has been going on, as I have said, for centuries, and it is too majestic and massive a movement to stop.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Isaac Asimov", "slug": "isaac-asimov", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov" }, "book": { "title": "Foundation", "slug": "foundation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov/foundation" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "history", "slug": "history", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/history" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov#Foundation_(1951)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:21" }, { "id": "b8817b61-938c-4b2f-84a8-530d7b3b969f", "slug": "korell-is-that", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov/foundation/korell-is-that", "text": "Korell is that frequent phenomenon in history: the republic whose ruler has every attribute of the absolute monarch but the name. It therefore enjoyed the usual despotism unrestrained even by those two moderating influences in the legitimate monarchies: regal “honor” and court etiquette.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Isaac Asimov", "slug": "isaac-asimov", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov" }, "book": { "title": "Foundation", "slug": "foundation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov/foundation" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov#Foundation_(1951)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:21" }, { "id": "75263b64-3b96-47ef-970b-78e1df934be2", "slug": "inertia-our-ruling", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov/foundation-and-empire/inertia-our-ruling", "text": "Inertia! Our ruling class knows one law; no change. Despotism! They know one rule; force. Maldistribution! They know one desire; to hold what is theirs.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Isaac Asimov", "slug": "isaac-asimov", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov" }, "book": { "title": "Foundation and Empire", "slug": "foundation-and-empire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov/foundation-and-empire" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov#Foundation_and_Empire_(1952)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:21" }, { "id": "75d42efe-5f26-432a-ac34-bd6f5b51367b", "slug": "you-make-interstellar", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov/the-currents-of-space/you-make-interstellar", "text": "“You make interstellar politics sound a very dirty game.” “It is, but disapproving of dirt doesn’t remove it.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Isaac Asimov", "slug": "isaac-asimov", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov" }, "book": { "title": "The Currents of Space", "slug": "the-currents-of-space", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov/the-currents-of-space" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 141, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov#The_Currents_of_Space_(1952)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:20" }, { "id": "9ad4dd69-d9c9-4888-a9f8-8f969064e8d7", "slug": "democracy-is-our", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/arthur-c-clarke/sunstorm/democracy-is-our", "text": "Democracy is our most important possession. If we throw it away when the going gets tough, we might never get it back.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Arthur C. Clarke", "slug": "arthur-c-clarke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/arthur-c-clarke" }, "book": { "title": "Sunstorm", "slug": "sunstorm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/arthur-c-clarke/sunstorm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 182, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke#Sunstorm_(2005)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:17" }, { "id": "010db499-04b1-46dc-8786-de1feca5d8dc", "slug": "what-we-find", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/arthur-c-clarke/3001-the-final-odyssey/what-we-find", "text": "What we find incredible is the way that people - right up to the early 2000s! - calmly accepted behaviour we would consider atrocious. And believed in the most mindboggled... Nonsense, which surely any rational person would dismiss out of hand.'... 'Examples, please.' 'Well... every year in some countries thousands of little girls were hideously mutilated to preserve their virginity? Many of them died - but the authorities turned a blind eye.' 'I agree that was terrible - but what could my government do about it?' 'A great deal - if it wished. But that would have offended the people who supplied it with oil and bought its weapons, like the landmines that killed and maimed civilians by the thousand.' p.32", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Arthur C. Clarke", "slug": "arthur-c-clarke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/arthur-c-clarke" }, "book": { "title": "3001 The Final Odyssey", "slug": "3001-the-final-odyssey", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/arthur-c-clarke/3001-the-final-odyssey" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "morality", "slug": "morality", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/morality" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke#3001:_The_Final_Odyssey_(1997)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:16" }, { "id": "c2d8950b-138d-4cbf-acd8-607134b61e5e", "slug": "the-stem-cell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-w-bush/decision-points/the-stem-cell", "text": "The stem cell debate was an introduction to a phenomenon I witnessed throughout my presidency: highly personal criticism. Partisan opponents and commentators questioned my legitimacy, my intelligence, and my sincerity. They mocked my appearance, my accent, and my religious beliefs. I was labeled a Nazi, a war criminal, and Satan himself. That last one came from a foreign leader, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. One lawmaker called me both a loser and a liar. He became majority leader of the U.S. Senate. In some ways, I wasn't surprised. I had endured plenty of rough politics in Texas. I had seen Dad and Bill Clinton derided by their opponents and the media. Abraham Lincoln was compared to a baboon. Even George Washington became so unpopular that political cartoons showed the hero of the American revolution being marched to the guillotine. Yet the death spiral of decency during my time in office, exacerbated by the advent of twenty-four-hour cable news and hyper-partisan political blogs, was deeply disappointing. The toxic atmosphere in American politics discourages good people from running for office.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George W. Bush", "slug": "george-w-bush", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-w-bush" }, "book": { "title": "Decision Points", "slug": "decision-points", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-w-bush/decision-points" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 121, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_W._Bush#Decision_Points_(November_2010)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:14" }, { "id": "b65de043-105b-486c-b2ff-058563833f46", "slug": "kanye-west-told", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-w-bush/decision-points/kanye-west-told", "text": "Kanye West told a prime-time T.V. audience, \"George Bush doesn't care about black people.\" Jesse Jackson later compared the New Orleans Convention Center to the \"hull of a slave ship\". A member of the Congressional Black Caucus claimed that if the storm victims had been \"white, middle-class Americans\" they would have received more help. Five years later, I can barely write those words without feeling disgusted. I am deeply insulted by the suggestion that we allowed American citizens to suffer because they were black. As I told the press at the time, \"The storm didn't discriminate, and neither will we. When those coast guard choppers, many of whom were first on the scene, were pulling people off roofs, they didn't check the color of a person's skin.\" The more I thought about it, the angrier I felt. I was raised to believe that racism was one of the greatest evils in society. I admired dad's courage when he defied near-universal opposition from his constituents to vote for the Open Housing Bill of 1968. I was proud to have earned more black votes than any Republican governor in Texas history. I had appointed African Americans to top government positions, including the first black woman national security adviser and the first two black secretaries of state. It broke my heart to see minority children shuffled through the school system, so I had based my signature domestic policy initiative, the No Child Left Behind Act, on ending the soft bigotry of low expectations. I had launched a $15 billion program to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa. As part of the response to Katrina, my administration worked with Congress to provided historically black colleges and universities in the Gulf Coast with more than $400 million in loans to restore their campuses and renew their recruiting efforts.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George W. Bush", "slug": "george-w-bush", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-w-bush" }, "book": { "title": "Decision Points", "slug": "decision-points", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-w-bush/decision-points" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 325, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_W._Bush#Decision_Points_(November_2010)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:14" }, { "id": "b0e6c895-9ba3-42c5-8ff4-32c092776c28", "slug": "its-too-early", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-w-bush/decision-points/its-too-early", "text": "It's too early to say how most of my decisions will turn out. As president, I had the honor of eulogizing Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan. President Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon, once regarded as one of the worst mistakes in presidential history, is now viewed as a selfless act of leadership. And it was quite something to hear the commentators who had once denounced President Reagan as a dunce and a warmonger talk about how the Great Communicator had won the Cold War. Decades from now, I hope people will view me as a president who recognized the central challenge of our time and kept my vow to keep the country safe; who pursued my convictions without wavering but changed course when necessary; who trusted individuals to make choices in their lives; and who used America's influence to advance freedom. And I hope they will conclude that I upheld the honor and dignity of the office I was so privileged to hold. Whatever the verdict on my presidency, I'm comfortable with the fact that I won't be around to hear it. That's a decision point only history will reach.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George W. Bush", "slug": "george-w-bush", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-w-bush" }, "book": { "title": "Decision Points", "slug": "decision-points", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-w-bush/decision-points" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 476, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "history", "slug": "history", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/history" }, { "name": "choices", "slug": "choices", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/choices" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_W._Bush#Decision_Points_(November_2010)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:14" }, { "id": "8dbae7bb-4cff-4da1-9366-a067c6a4e480", "slug": "whenever-a-government", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ivo-andric/the-bridge-on-the-drina/whenever-a-government", "text": "Whenever a government feels the need of promising peace and prosperity to its citizens by means of a proclamation, it is time to be on guard and expect the opposite.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ivo Andric", "slug": "ivo-andric", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ivo-andric" }, "book": { "title": "The Bridge on the Drina", "slug": "the-bridge-on-the-drina", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ivo-andric/the-bridge-on-the-drina" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 332, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ivo_Andri%C4%87#The_Bridge_on_the_Drina_(1945)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:14" }, { "id": "832895ee-894e-4e2d-ab8b-2f23d6be2eb8", "slug": "i-faced-a-lot", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-w-bush/decision-points/i-faced-a-lot", "text": "I faced a lot of criticism as president. I didn't like hearing people claim I had lied about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction or cut taxes to benefit the rich. But the suggestion that I was a racist because of the response to Katrina represented an all-time low. I told Laura at the time that it was the worst moment of my presidency. I feel the same way today.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George W. Bush", "slug": "george-w-bush", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-w-bush" }, "book": { "title": "Decision Points", "slug": "decision-points", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-w-bush/decision-points" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 325, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_W._Bush#Decision_Points_(November_2010)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:14" }, { "id": "2ad0e9f4-d32a-4624-a1f2-bdc43a504022", "slug": "barack-and-michelle", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-w-bush/decision-points/barack-and-michelle", "text": "Barack and Michelle Obama arrived on the North Portico just before 10:00 a.m. Laura and I had invited them for a cup of coffee in the Blue Room, just as Bill and Hillary Clinton had done for us eight years earlier. The Obamas were in good spirits and excited about the journey ahead. Meanwhile, in the Situation Room, homeland security aides from both our teams monitored intelligence on a terrorist threat to Washington. It was a stark reminder that evil men still want to harm our country, no matter who is serving as president. After our visit, we climbed into the motorcade for the trip up Pennsylvania Avenue. I thought back to the drive I'd made with Bill Clinton eight years earlier. That day in January 2001, I could never have imagined what would unfold over my time in office. I knew some of the decisions I had made were not popular with many of my fellow citizens. But I felt satisfied that I had been willing to make the hard decisions, and I had always done what I believed was right. At the Capitol, Laura and I took our seats for the Inauguration. I marveled at the peaceful transition of power, one of the defining features of our democracy. The audience was riveted with anticipation for he swearing-in. Barack Obama had campaigned on hope, and that was what he had given many Americans. For our new president, the Inauguration was a thrilling beginning. For Laura and me, it was an end. It was another president's turn, and I was ready to go home.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George W. Bush", "slug": "george-w-bush", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-w-bush" }, "book": { "title": "Decision Points", "slug": "decision-points", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-w-bush/decision-points" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 474, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_W._Bush#Decision_Points_(November_2010)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:14" }, { "id": "220324ff-9b2c-4241-b329-c6969b001254", "slug": "from-the-beginning", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-w-bush/decision-points/from-the-beginning", "text": "From the beginning, I knew the public reaction to my decisions would be colored by whether there was another attack. If none happened, whatever I did would probably look like an overreaction. If we were attacked again, people would demand to know why I hadn't done more. That is the nature of the presidency. Perceptions are shaped by the clarity of hindsight. In the moment of decision, you don't have that advantage. On 9/11, I vowed that I would do what it took to protect America, within the Constitution and laws of our nation. History can debate the decisions I made, the policies I chose, and the tools I left behind. But there can be no debate about one fact: After the nightmare of September 11, America went seven and a half years without another successful terrorist attack on our soil. If I had to summarize my most meaningful accomplishment as president in one sentence, that would be it.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George W. Bush", "slug": "george-w-bush", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-w-bush" }, "book": { "title": "Decision Points", "slug": "decision-points", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-w-bush/decision-points" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 181, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "responsibility", "slug": "responsibility", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/responsibility" }, { "name": "choices", "slug": "choices", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/choices" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_W._Bush#Decision_Points_(November_2010)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:14" }, { "id": "c40bd6d1-d1fa-4d62-b3c4-a0eeb58d7673", "slug": "its-strange-how", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/roberto-bolano/last-evenings-on-earth/its-strange-how", "text": "It's strange how things happen, Mauricio Silva, known as the Eye, always tried to escape from violence even at the risk of being considered a coward, but the violence, the real violence, can't be escaped, at least not by us, born in Latin America in the 1950s, those of us who were around twenty years old when Salvador Allende died.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Roberto Bolaño", "slug": "roberto-bolano", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/roberto-bolano" }, "book": { "title": "Last Evenings On Earth", "slug": "last-evenings-on-earth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/roberto-bolano/last-evenings-on-earth" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "history", "slug": "history", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/history" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Roberto_Bola%C3%B1o#Last_Evenings_on_Earth_(2006)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:13" }, { "id": "bbbcd6aa-efb2-40e4-87a1-852428599578", "slug": "theres-only-one", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emile-zola/germinal/theres-only-one", "text": "There's only one thing that warms my heart, and that is the thought that we are going to sweep away these bourgeois.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Emile Zola", "slug": "emile-zola", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emile-zola" }, "book": { "title": "Germinal", "slug": "germinal", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emile-zola/germinal" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/%C3%89mile_Zola#Germinal_(1885)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:11" }, { "id": "b6cba007-a212-43d7-a5b4-973bbdcf82fd", "slug": "antagonism-breeds-extremism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emile-zola/germinal/antagonism-breeds-extremism", "text": "Antagonism breeds extremism, and it was turning one into the zealous revolutionary and the other into an excessive advocate of caution, taking them beyond what they really thought and forcing them to adopt positions of which they then became prisoners.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Emile Zola", "slug": "emile-zola", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emile-zola" }, "book": { "title": "Germinal", "slug": "germinal", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emile-zola/germinal" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/%C3%89mile_Zola#Germinal_(1885)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:11" }, { "id": "8fd2348a-90a3-4517-b226-7230aa295808", "slug": "they-spoke-one", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emile-zola/germinal/they-spoke-one", "text": "They spoke one after the other in a despairing voice, giving expression to their complaints. The workers could not hold out; the Revolution had only aggravated their wretchedness; only the bourgeois had grown fat since '89, so greedily that they had not even left the bottom of the plates to lick. Who could say that the workers had had their reasonable share in the extraordinary increase of wealth and comfort during the last hundred years? They had made fun of them by declaring them free. Yes, free to starve, a freedom of which they fully availed themselves. It put no bread into your cupboard to go and vote for fine fellows who went away and enjoyed themselves, thinking no more of the wretched voters than of their old boots. No! one way or another it would have to come to an end, either quietly by laws, by an understanding in good fellowship, or like savages by burning everything and devouring one another. Even if they never saw it, their children would certainly see it, for the century could not come to an end without another revolution, that of the workers this time, a general hustling which would cleanse society from top to bottom, and rebuild it with more cleanliness and justice.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Emile Zola", "slug": "emile-zola", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emile-zola" }, "book": { "title": "Germinal", "slug": "germinal", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emile-zola/germinal" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" }, { "name": "justice", "slug": "justice", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/justice" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/%C3%89mile_Zola#Germinal_(1885)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:11" }, { "id": "059bcda0-16ad-4965-9e1f-d8af07f30e83", "slug": "it-was-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emile-zola/germinal/it-was-the", "text": "It was the red vision of the revolution, which would one day inevitably carry them all away, on some bloody evening at the end of the century. Yes, some evening the people, unbridled at last, would thus gallop along the roads, making the blood of the middle class flow, parading severed heads and sprinkling gold from disembowelled coffers. The women would yell, the men would have those wolf-like jaws open to bite. Yes, the same rags, the same thunder of great sabots, the same terrible troop, with dirty skins and tainted breath, sweeping away the old world beneath an overflowing flood of barbarians.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Emile Zola", "slug": "emile-zola", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emile-zola" }, "book": { "title": "Germinal", "slug": "germinal", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emile-zola/germinal" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/%C3%89mile_Zola#Germinal_(1885)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:11" }, { "id": "ed264fa4-95b6-4e0d-9873-ef2c441c485a", "slug": "my-old-suggestion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/minority-report/my-old-suggestion", "text": "My old suggestion that public offices be filled by drawing lots, as a jury box is filled, was probably more intelligent than I suspected. It has been criticized on the ground that selecting a man at random would probably produce some extremely bad State governors. [...] But I incline to believe that it would be best to choose members of the Legislature quite at random. No matter how stupid they were, they could not be more stupid than the average legislator under the present system. Certainly, they'd be measurably more honest, taking one with another. Finally, there would be the great advantage that all of them had got their jobs unwillingly, and were eager, not to spin out their sessions endlessly, but to get home as soon as possible.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "H.L. Mencken", "slug": "hl-mencken", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken" }, "book": { "title": "Minority Report", "slug": "minority-report", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/minority-report" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._L._Mencken#Minority_Report_:_H.L._Mencken's_Notebooks_(1956)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:03" }, { "id": "e3d61bca-75f4-496d-ab72-2da7398711f1", "slug": "government-like-any", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/minority-report/government-like-any", "text": "Government, like any other organism, refuses to acquiesce in its own extinction. This refusal, of course, involves the resistance to any effort to diminish its powers and prerogatives. There has been no organized effort to keep government down since Jefferson's day. Ever since then the American people have been bolstering up its powers and giving it more and more jurisdiction over their affairs. They pay for that folly in increased taxes and diminished liberties. No government as such is ever in favor of the freedom of the individual. It invariably seeks to limit that freedom, if not by overt denial, then by seeking constantly to widen its own functions.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "H.L. Mencken", "slug": "hl-mencken", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken" }, "book": { "title": "Minority Report", "slug": "minority-report", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/minority-report" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "freedom", "slug": "freedom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/freedom" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._L._Mencken#Minority_Report_:_H.L._Mencken's_Notebooks_(1956)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:03" }, { "id": "d08e306a-9d52-45f8-9ceb-aff5bb1c3b64", "slug": "the-kind-of-man", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/minority-report/the-kind-of-man", "text": "The kind of man who wants the government to adopt and enforce his ideas is always the kind of man whose ideas are idiotic.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "H.L. Mencken", "slug": "hl-mencken", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken" }, "book": { "title": "Minority Report", "slug": "minority-report", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/minority-report" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "stupidity", "slug": "stupidity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/stupidity" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._L._Mencken#Minority_Report_:_H.L._Mencken's_Notebooks_(1956)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:03" }, { "id": "cdb1ef9c-72dc-40f4-8708-972f3aef115f", "slug": "the-main-thing", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/minority-report/the-main-thing", "text": "The main thing that every political campaign in the United States demonstrates is that the politicians of all parties, despite their superficial enmities, are really members of one great brotherhood. Their principal, and indeed their sole, object is to collar public office, with all the privileges and profits that go therewith. They achieve this collaring by buying votes with other people's money. No professional politician is ever actually in favor of public economy. It is his implacable enemy, and he knows it. All professional politicians are dedicated wholeheartedly to waste and corruption. They are the enemies of every decent man.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "H.L. Mencken", "slug": "hl-mencken", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken" }, "book": { "title": "Minority Report", "slug": "minority-report", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/minority-report" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._L._Mencken#Minority_Report_:_H.L._Mencken's_Notebooks_(1956)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:03" }, { "id": "c9cf1acf-7f8a-440d-a592-31e6f534a684", "slug": "the-state-is-not", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/minority-report/the-state-is-not", "text": "The State is not force alone. It depends upon the credulity of man quite as much as upon his docility. Its aim is not merely to make him obey, but also to make him want to obey.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "H.L. Mencken", "slug": "hl-mencken", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken" }, "book": { "title": "Minority Report", "slug": "minority-report", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/minority-report" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 217, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._L._Mencken#Minority_Report_:_H.L._Mencken's_Notebooks_(1956)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:03" }, { "id": "be113f21-1792-4396-b48d-c958468f6bfd", "slug": "the-highfalutin-aims", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/minority-report/the-highfalutin-aims", "text": "The highfalutin aims of democracy, whether real or imaginary, are always assumed to be identical with its achievements. This, of course, is sheer hallucination. Not one of those aims, not even the aim of giving every adult a vote, has been realized. It has no more made men wise and free than Christianity has made them good.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "H.L. Mencken", "slug": "hl-mencken", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken" }, "book": { "title": "Minority Report", "slug": "minority-report", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/minority-report" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "illusions", "slug": "illusions", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/illusions" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._L._Mencken#Minority_Report_:_H.L._Mencken's_Notebooks_(1956)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:03" }, { "id": "bc53213e-df86-4d2a-9f09-a76162f756b8", "slug": "the-only-guarantee", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/minority-report/the-only-guarantee", "text": "The only guarantee of the Bill of Rights which continues to have any force and effect is the one prohibiting quartering troops on citizens in time of peace. All the rest have been disposed of by judicial interpretation and legislative whittling. Probably the worst thing that has happened in America in my time is the decay of confidence in the courts. No one can be sure any more that in a given case they will uphold the plainest mandate of the Constitution. On the contrary, everyone begins to be more or less convinced in advance that they won't. Judges are chosen not because they know the Constitution and are in favor of it, but precisely because they appear to be against it.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "H.L. Mencken", "slug": "hl-mencken", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken" }, "book": { "title": "Minority Report", "slug": "minority-report", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/minority-report" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "justice", "slug": "justice", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/justice" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._L._Mencken#Minority_Report_:_H.L._Mencken's_Notebooks_(1956)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:03" }, { "id": "93345064-0eab-4b60-9e5b-80a634339643", "slug": "government-is-actually", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/minority-report/government-is-actually", "text": "Government is actually the worst failure of civilized man. There has never been a really good one, and even those that are most tolerable are arbitrary, cruel, grasping and unintelligent. Indeed, it would not be far wrong to describe the best as the common enemy of all decent citizens. But there will be small hope of gaining adherents to this idea so long as government is thought of as an independent and somehow super-human organism, with powers, rights, and privileges transcending those of any other human aggregation.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "H.L. 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Its history is simply a record of vacillations between two gangs of frauds.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "H.L. 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[...] The art of government is the exclusive possession of quacks and frauds. It has been so since the earliest days, and it will probably remain so until the end of time.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "H.L. Mencken", "slug": "hl-mencken", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken" }, "book": { "title": "Minority Report", "slug": "minority-report", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/minority-report" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._L._Mencken#Minority_Report_:_H.L._Mencken's_Notebooks_(1956)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:03" }, { "id": "11654f53-1c55-4770-bed4-e8189866b619", "slug": "the-chief-difference", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/minority-report/the-chief-difference", "text": "The chief difference between free capitalism and State socialism seems to be this: that under the former a man pursues his own advantage openly, frankly and honestly, whereas under the latter he does so hypocritically and under false pretenses.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "H.L. 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Mencken", "slug": "hl-mencken", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken" }, "book": { "title": "A Mencken Chrestomathy", "slug": "a-mencken-chrestomathy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/a-mencken-chrestomathy" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "stupidity", "slug": "stupidity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/stupidity" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._L._Mencken#A_Mencken_Chrestomathy_(1949)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:02" }, { "id": "4f287f2b-29b6-4563-b1e3-9eeee0431a4a", "slug": "in-this-world", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/a-mencken-chrestomathy/in-this-world", "text": "In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for. As for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "H.L. 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Mencken", "slug": "hl-mencken", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken" }, "book": { "title": "A Mencken Chrestomathy", "slug": "a-mencken-chrestomathy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/a-mencken-chrestomathy" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._L._Mencken#A_Mencken_Chrestomathy_(1949)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:02" }, { "id": "7c306ef5-da41-49f2-b1b8-1f161dfccadc", "slug": "the-new-deal", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/a-mencken-chrestomathy/the-new-deal", "text": "The New Deal began, like the Salvation Army, by promising to save humanity. It ended, again like the Salvation Army, by running flop-houses and disturbing the peace.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "H.L. Mencken", "slug": "hl-mencken", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken" }, "book": { "title": "A Mencken Chrestomathy", "slug": "a-mencken-chrestomathy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/a-mencken-chrestomathy" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._L._Mencken#A_Mencken_Chrestomathy_(1949)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:01" }, { "id": "56f59ee6-b50e-4280-9584-8a385ad5f3c3", "slug": "democracy-is-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/a-mencken-chrestomathy/democracy-is-the", "text": "Democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "H.L. Mencken", "slug": "hl-mencken", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken" }, "book": { "title": "A Mencken Chrestomathy", "slug": "a-mencken-chrestomathy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/a-mencken-chrestomathy" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._L._Mencken#A_Mencken_Chrestomathy_(1949)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:01" }, { "id": "5b9ede96-2a38-4225-ba64-5880fad4c8d7", "slug": "chapter-27-i-endorse", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/p-j-orourke/how-the-hell-did-this-happen/chapter-27-i-endorse", "text": "Chapter 27: I Endorse Hillary Clinton", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "P. J. O'Rourke", "slug": "p-j-orourke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/p-j-orourke" }, "book": { "title": "How the Hell Did This Happen?", "slug": "how-the-hell-did-this-happen", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/p-j-orourke/how-the-hell-did-this-happen" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/P._J._O'Rourke#How_The_Hell_Did_This_Happen%3F_(2017)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:00" }, { "id": "10b2afc9-286c-49c6-8998-5cb2d35752ae", "slug": "chapter-one-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/p-j-orourke/how-the-hell-did-this-happen/chapter-one-the", "text": "Chapter One: The Campaign Begins: Ready, Set, Go to Hell", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "P. J. O'Rourke", "slug": "p-j-orourke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/p-j-orourke" }, "book": { "title": "How the Hell Did This Happen?", "slug": "how-the-hell-did-this-happen", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/p-j-orourke/how-the-hell-did-this-happen" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/P._J._O'Rourke#How_The_Hell_Did_This_Happen%3F_(2017)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:00" }, { "id": "ab16a536-528e-454c-b33c-acaf5f8a3ae3", "slug": "these-were-people", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/p-j-orourke/republican-party-reptile/these-were-people", "text": "These were people who believed everything about the Soviet Union was perfect, but they were bringing their own toilet paper.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "P. J. O'Rourke", "slug": "p-j-orourke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/p-j-orourke" }, "book": { "title": "Republican Party Reptile", "slug": "republican-party-reptile", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/p-j-orourke/republican-party-reptile" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "hypocrisy", "slug": "hypocrisy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hypocrisy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/P._J._O'Rourke#Republican_Party_Reptile_(1987)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:59" }, { "id": "8beb4cc1-6ce2-4ce5-a0fc-4a9fba13828d", "slug": "wherever-theres-injustice", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/p-j-orourke/peace-kills/wherever-theres-injustice", "text": "Wherever there's injustice, oppression, and suffering, America will show up six months late and bomb the country next to where it's happening.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "P. J. O'Rourke", "slug": "p-j-orourke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/p-j-orourke" }, "book": { "title": "Peace Kills", "slug": "peace-kills", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/p-j-orourke/peace-kills" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "war", "slug": "war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/war" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/P._J._O'Rourke#Peace_Kills:_America's_Fun_New_Imperialism_(2004)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:59" }, { "id": "81b64e6f-6b68-4fc2-b8ac-c2946aaa27a6", "slug": "to-grasp-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/pj-orourke/holidays-in-hell/to-grasp-the", "text": "To grasp the true meaning of socialism, imagine a world where everything is designed by the post office, even the sleaze.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "P.J. O'Rourke", "slug": "pj-orourke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/pj-orourke" }, "book": { "title": "Holidays in Hell", "slug": "holidays-in-hell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/pj-orourke/holidays-in-hell" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/P._J._O'Rourke#Holidays_in_Hell_(1989)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:59" }, { "id": "df59f72c-767a-4d58-9044-78710ad0cd5a", "slug": "the-soviet-constitution", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/p-j-orourke/republican-party-reptile/the-soviet-constitution", "text": "The Soviet constitution guarantees everyone a job. A pretty scary idea, I'd say.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "P. J. O'Rourke", "slug": "p-j-orourke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/p-j-orourke" }, "book": { "title": "Republican Party Reptile", "slug": "republican-party-reptile", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/p-j-orourke/republican-party-reptile" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/P._J._O'Rourke#Republican_Party_Reptile_(1987)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:58" }, { "id": "8c77b18a-28da-47d2-9884-ccc202e0f390", "slug": "neither-conservatives-nor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/p-j-orourke/republican-party-reptile/neither-conservatives-nor", "text": "Neither conservatives nor humorists believe man is good. But left-wingers do.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "P. J. O'Rourke", "slug": "p-j-orourke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/p-j-orourke" }, "book": { "title": "Republican Party Reptile", "slug": "republican-party-reptile", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/p-j-orourke/republican-party-reptile" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/P._J._O'Rourke#Republican_Party_Reptile_(1987)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:58" }, { "id": "67a9bf2a-bfae-4436-b428-e02a46a8fb3d", "slug": "im-a-registered", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/p-j-orourke/republican-party-reptile/im-a-registered", "text": "I'm a registered Republican and consider socialism a violation of the American principle that you shouldn't stick your nose in other people's business except to make a buck.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "P. J. O'Rourke", "slug": "p-j-orourke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/p-j-orourke" }, "book": { "title": "Republican Party Reptile", "slug": "republican-party-reptile", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/p-j-orourke/republican-party-reptile" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/P._J._O'Rourke#Republican_Party_Reptile_(1987)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:58" }, { "id": "1851227c-b084-48f0-be45-42f184682bbe", "slug": "every-revolutionary-ends", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/albert-camus/the-rebel/every-revolutionary-ends", "text": "Every revolutionary ends as an oppressor or a heretic.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Albert Camus", "slug": "albert-camus", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/albert-camus" }, "book": { "title": "The Rebel", "slug": "the-rebel", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/albert-camus/the-rebel" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Camus#The_Rebel_(1951)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:57" }, { "id": "0c36e76e-37e5-4a0e-b680-5afaa967ade3", "slug": "every-ideology-is-contrary", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/albert-camus/the-rebel/every-ideology-is-contrary", "text": "Every ideology is contrary to human psychology.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Albert Camus", "slug": "albert-camus", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/albert-camus" }, "book": { "title": "The Rebel", "slug": "the-rebel", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/albert-camus/the-rebel" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Camus#The_Rebel_(1951)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:57" }, { "id": "390d33cc-176b-4aec-a4ce-7b62cda160a8", "slug": "leonid-brezhnev-needed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-a-michener/poland/leonid-brezhnev-needed", "text": "Leonid Brezhnev needed a haircut, so he went down to the ground floor of the Kremlin and plopped into the chair. It was understood that at such times the barber was to say not a word, just cut hair. But this morning, after a few snips he said: \"Comrade Brezhnev what are you going to do about Poland?\" No reply. Some minutes later: \"Comrade Brezhnev, what about Poland?\" Again no reply. Then, pretty soon: \"Comrade Brezhnev, you've got to do something about Poland.\" At this Brezhnev jumps out of the chair and tears away the cloth: \"What's all this about Poland?\" and the barber says: \"It makes my job so much easier,\" and Brezhnev screams: \"What do you mean?\" and the barber says: \"Every time I mention Poland your hair stands straight up on end.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "James A. Michener", "slug": "james-a-michener", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-a-michener" }, "book": { "title": "Poland", "slug": "poland", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-a-michener/poland" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 567, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_A._Michener#Poland_(1983)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:54" }, { "id": "e646ef3d-ca34-4256-9fa2-57119e117d43", "slug": "second-after-a-painful", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-a-michener/poland/second-after-a-painful", "text": "Second, after a painful gap without any king, and a furious struggle by various foreign powers to elect men favorable to them, the Seym chose a pathetic Polish incompetent, who had the good sense to die rather promptly.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "James A. Michener", "slug": "james-a-michener", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-a-michener" }, "book": { "title": "Poland", "slug": "poland", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-a-michener/poland" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 153, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "history", "slug": "history", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/history" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_A._Michener#Poland_(1983)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:53" }, { "id": "4bef8774-73c5-4f84-9f47-68cc65aebb3d", "slug": "in-a-small", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-a-michener/poland/in-a-small", "text": "In a small Polish farm community, during the fall planting season of 1981, events occurred which electrified the world, sending reverberations of magnitude to capitals as diverse as Washington, Peking and especially Moscow.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "James A. Michener", "slug": "james-a-michener", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-a-michener" }, "book": { "title": "Poland", "slug": "poland", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-a-michener/poland" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "history", "slug": "history", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/history" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_A._Michener#Poland_(1983)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:53" }, { "id": "a86e61ad-04c8-41d1-9259-caadc2ab8991", "slug": "the-authority-of-government", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/the-authority-of-government", "text": "The authority of government, even such as I am willing to submit to — for I will cheerfully obey those who know and can do better than I, and in many things even those who neither know nor can do so well — is still an impure one: to be strictly just, it must have the sanction and consent of the governed. It can have no pure right over my person and property but what I concede to it.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "freedom", "slug": "freedom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/freedom" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Civil_Disobedience_(Thoreau)#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:52" }, { "id": "388864e8-e015-43aa-9ca1-7a4cfe898d20", "slug": "statesmen-and-legislators", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/statesmen-and-legislators", "text": "Statesmen and legislators, standing so completely within the institution, never distinctly and nakedly behold it. They speak of moving society, but have no resting-place without it. They may be men of a certain experience and discrimination, and have no doubt invented ingenious and even useful systems, for which we sincerely thank them; but all their wit and usefulness lie within certain not very wide limits. They are wont to forget that the world is not governed by policy and expediency.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Civil_Disobedience_(Thoreau)#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:52" }, { "id": "fd31dd35-f4df-47c7-ad1b-425359963def", "slug": "if-others-pay", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/if-others-pay", "text": "If others pay the tax which is demanded of me, from a sympathy with the State, they do but what they have already done in their own case, or rather they abet injustice to a greater extent than the State requires. If they pay the tax from a mistaken interest in the individual taxed, to save his property, or prevent his going to jail, it is because they have not considered wisely how far they let their private feelings interfere with the public good. This, then, is my position at present. But one cannot be too much on his guard in such a case, lest his action be biased by obstinacy or an undue regard for the opinions of men. Let him see that he does only what belongs to himself and to the hour.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "justice", "slug": "justice", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/justice" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Civil_Disobedience_(Thoreau)#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:51" }, { "id": "f99984a0-d22f-47f2-8048-bd06ea098c53", "slug": "under-a-government-which", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/under-a-government-which", "text": "Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison. The proper place to-day, the only place which Massachusetts has provided for her freer and less desponding spirits, is in her prisons, to be put out and locked out of the State by her own act, as they have already put themselves out by their principles. It is there that the fugitive slave, and the Mexican prisoner on parole, and the Indian come to plead the wrongs of his race, should find them; on that separate, but more free and honorable ground, where the State places those who are not with her, but against her — the only house in a slave State in which a free man can abide with honor. If any think that their influence would be lost there, and their voices no longer afflict the ear of the State, that they would not be as an enemy within its walls, they do not know by how much truth is stronger than error, nor how much more eloquently and effectively he can combat injustice who has experienced a little in his own person. Cast your whole vote, not a strip of paper merely, but your whole influence. A minority is powerless while it conforms to the majority; it is not even a minority then; but it is irresistible when it clogs by its whole weight. If the alternative is to keep all just men in prison, or give up war and slavery, the State will not hesitate which to choose. If a thousand men were not to pay their tax-bills this year, that would not be a violent and bloody measure, as it would be to pay them, and enable the State to commit violence and shed innocent blood. This is, in fact, the definition of a peaceable revolution, if any such is possible.'", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "freedom", "slug": "freedom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/freedom" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "justice", "slug": "justice", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/justice" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Civil_Disobedience_(Thoreau)#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:51" }, { "id": "f23de88c-d1db-401b-8bd2-c839ed21a6ec", "slug": "all-men-recognize", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/all-men-recognize", "text": "All men recognize the right of revolution; that is, the right to refuse allegiance to, and to resist, the government, when its tyranny or its inefficiency are great and unendurable.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "freedom", "slug": "freedom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/freedom" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Civil_Disobedience_(Thoreau)#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:51" }, { "id": "d08ab934-b1fe-4c4e-8d45-eea09dee59f8", "slug": "if-the-injustice", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/if-the-injustice", "text": "If the injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine of government, let it go, let it go; perchance it will wear smooth--certainly the machine will wear out. If the injustice has a spring, or a pulley, or a rope, or a crank, exclusively for itself, then perhaps you may consider whether the remedy will not be worse than the evil; but if it is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then I say, break the law. Let your life be a counter-friction to stop the machine. What I have to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "morality", "slug": "morality", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/morality" }, { "name": "justice", "slug": "justice", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/justice" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:51" }, { "id": "a3d6025c-d1e8-42ef-ac9e-0900df193c39", "slug": "the-soldier-is-applauded", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/the-soldier-is-applauded", "text": "The soldier is applauded who refuses to serve in an unjust war by those who do not refuse to sustain the unjust government which makes the war; is applauded by those whose own act and authority he disregards and sets at naught; as if the state were penitent to that degree that it hired one to scourge it while it sinned, but not to that degree that it left off sinning for a moment.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "war", "slug": "war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/war" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "hypocrisy", "slug": "hypocrisy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hypocrisy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:51" }, { "id": "a19f67d9-6303-449a-9b98-87d896b294b1", "slug": "all-voting-is-a-sort", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/all-voting-is-a-sort", "text": "All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or backgammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and wrong, with moral questions; and betting naturally accompanies it. The character of the voters is not staked. I cast my vote, perchance, as I think right; but I am not vitally concerned that that right should prevail. I am willing to leave it to the majority. Its obligation, therefore, never exceeds that of expediency. Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it. It is only expressing to men feebly your desire that it should prevail. A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority. There is but little virtue in the action of masses of men. When the majority shall at length vote for the abolition of slavery, it will be because they are indifferent to slavery, or because there is but little slavery left to be abolished by their vote. They will then be the only slaves. Only his vote can hasten the abolition of slavery who asserts his own freedom by his vote.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "morality", "slug": "morality", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/morality" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:51" }, { "id": "a05c6242-696b-4c4c-a052-537bb35391c2", "slug": "how-does-it-become", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/how-does-it-become", "text": "How does it become a man to behave toward this American government today? I answered that he cannot without disgrace be associated with it.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "morality", "slug": "morality", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/morality" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:51" }, { "id": "9cd81173-25f2-4d4f-95d2-67d352d6020a", "slug": "when-the-subject", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/when-the-subject", "text": "When the subject has refused allegiance, and the officer has resigned his office, then the revolution is accomplished. But even suppose blood should flow. Is there not a sort of blood shed when the conscience is wounded? Through this wound a man's real manhood and immortality flow out, and he bleeds to an everlasting death. I see this blood flowing now.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "freedom", "slug": "freedom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/freedom" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "morality", "slug": "morality", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/morality" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Civil_Disobedience_(Thoreau)#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:51" }, { "id": "9434494d-da03-422a-88a3-c7c9210c6de0", "slug": "the-progress-from", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/the-progress-from", "text": "The progress from an absolute to a limited monarchy, from a limited monarchy to a democracy, is a progress toward a true respect for the individual.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:51" }, { "id": "90c5e46a-d68d-433c-8890-13a4f6017518", "slug": "i-meet-this", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/i-meet-this", "text": "I meet this American government, or its representative, the State government, directly, and face to face, once a year — no more — in the person of its tax-gatherer; this is the only mode in which a man situated as I am necessarily meets it; and it then says distinctly, Recognize me; and the simplest, the most effectual, and, in the present posture of affairs, the indispensablest mode of treating with it on this head, of expressing your little satisfaction with and love for it, is to deny it then.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Civil_Disobedience_(Thoreau)#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:51" }, { "id": "7f304480-8f67-480c-888e-79283711c953", "slug": "is-a-democracy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/is-a-democracy", "text": "Is a democracy, such as we know it, the last improvement possible in government? Is it not possible to take a step further towards recognizing and organizing the rights of man? There will never be a really free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived, and treats him accordingly. I please myself with imagining a State at least which can afford to be just to all men, and to treat the individual with respect as a neighbor; which even would not think it inconsistent with its own repose if a few were to live aloof from it, not meddling with it, nor embraced by it, who fulfilled all the duties of neighbors and fellow-men. A State which bore this kind of fruit, and suffered it to drop off as fast as it ripened, would prepare the way for a still more perfect and glorious State, which also I have imagined, but not yet anywhere seen.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "freedom", "slug": "freedom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/freedom" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:51" }, { "id": "7ab3fe6d-9e45-4b60-b8ea-c533faaf1e60", "slug": "the-mass-of-men", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/the-mass-of-men", "text": "The mass of men serve the state […], not as men mainly, but as machines, with their bodies. They are the standing army, and the militia, jailers, constables, posse comitatus, etc. In most cases there is no free exercise whatever of the judgment or of the moral sense; but they put themselves on a level with wood and earth and stones; and wooden men can perhaps be manufactured that will serve the purpose as well. Such command no more respect than men of straw or a lump of dirt. They have the same sort of worth only as horses and dogs. Yet such as these even are commonly esteemed good citizens. Others, as most legislators, politicians, lawyers, ministers, and office-holders, serve the state chiefly with their heads; and, as they rarely make any moral distinctions, they are as likely to serve the devil, without intending it, as God. A very few, as heroes, patriots, martyrs, reformers in the great sense, and men, serve the state with their consciences also, and so necessarily resist it for the most part; and they are commonly treated as enemies by it. A wise man will only be useful as a man, and will not submit to be \"clay,\" and \"stop a hole to keep the wind away,\" but leave that office to his dust at least […].", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "morality", "slug": "morality", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/morality" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Civil_Disobedience_(Thoreau)#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:51" }, { "id": "5ef1e337-13a5-43e3-8d78-6a90ab3bcceb", "slug": "when-a-sixth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/when-a-sixth", "text": "When a sixth of the population of a nation which has undertaken to be the refuge of liberty are slaves, and a whole country is unjustly overrun and conquered by a foreign army, and subjected to military law, I think that it is not too soon for honest men to rebel and revolutionize. What makes this duty the more urgent is the fact that the country so overrun is not our own, but ours is the invading army.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "war", "slug": "war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/war" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "justice", "slug": "justice", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/justice" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:51" }, { "id": "5ac20efa-08d2-48f1-bc45-50ecd2362b44", "slug": "i-saw-that-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/i-saw-that-the", "text": "I saw that the State was half-witted, that it was timid as a lone woman with her silver spoons, and that it did not know its friends from its foes, and I lost all my remaining respect for it, and pitied it. Thus the State never intentionally confronts a man's sense, intellectual or moral, but only his body, his senses. It is not armed with superior wit or honesty, but with superior physical strength. I was not born to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion. Let us see who is the strongest. What force has a multitude? They only can force me who obey a higher law than I. They force me to become like themselves. I do not hear of men being forced to have this way or that by masses of men.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "freedom", "slug": "freedom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/freedom" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Civil_Disobedience_(Thoreau)#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:51" }, { "id": "4e75e9a3-7a47-415c-8535-e6d9cd025ca6", "slug": "to-speak-practically", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/to-speak-practically", "text": "To speak practically and as a citizen, unlike those who call themselves no-government men, I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government. Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtaining it. After all, the practical reason why, when the power is once in the hands of the people, a majority are permitted, and for a long period continue, to rule, is not because they are most likely to be in the right, nor because this seems fairest to the minority, but because they are physically the strongest. But a government in which the majority rule in all cases cannot be based on justice, even as far as men understand it. Can there not be a government in which majorities do not virtually decide right and wrong, but conscience? — in which majorities decide only those questions to which the rule of expediency is applicable? Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience, then? I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right. It is truly enough said that a corporation has no conscience; but a corporation of conscientious men is a corporation with a conscience. Law never made men a whit more just; and, by means of their respect for it, even the well-disposed are daily made the agents of injustice.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "morality", "slug": "morality", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/morality" }, { "name": "justice", "slug": "justice", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/justice" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:51" }, { "id": "4465b1b5-88d7-472c-bce8-85217685dd12", "slug": "i-am-as-desirous", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/i-am-as-desirous", "text": "I am as desirous of being a good neighbor as I am of being a bad subject.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:51" }, { "id": "3a122060-5dc0-4f42-a04a-7d8734944653", "slug": "for-eighteen-hundred", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/for-eighteen-hundred", "text": "For eighteen hundred years, though perchance I have no right to say it, the New Testament has been written; yet where is the legislator who has wisdom and practical talent enough to avail himself of the light which it sheds on the science of legislation?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "religion", "slug": "religion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/religion" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:51" }, { "id": "2bc997c1-fa7d-49fe-b993-86d5723ad3dc", "slug": "no-man-with", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/no-man-with", "text": "No man with a genius for legislation has appeared in America. They are rare in the history of the world. There are orators, politicians, and eloquent men, by the thousand; but the speaker has not yet opened his mouth to speak who is capable of settling the much-vexed questions of the day.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:51" }, { "id": "20bc350b-be80-45cf-a00a-98c8afb0848f", "slug": "i-heartily-accept", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/i-heartily-accept", "text": "I heartily accept the motto, \"That government is best which governs least\"; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe — \"That government is best which governs not at all\"; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:51" }, { "id": "1b70ead6-c36c-41df-be00-7d92bba408d8", "slug": "i-saw-that", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/i-saw-that", "text": "I saw that the State was half-witted, that it was timid as a lone woman with her silver spoons, and that it did not know its friends from its foes, and I lost all my remaining respect for it, and pitied it. Thus the state never intentionally confronts a man's sense, intellectual or moral, but only his body, his senses. It is not armed with superior wit or honesty, but with superior physical strength. I was not born to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion. Let us see who is the strongest. What force has a multitude? They only can force me who obey a higher law than I. They force me to become like themselves. I do not hear of men being forced to live this way or that by masses of men. What sort of life were that to live? When I meet a government which says to me, ‘Your money or your life,’ why should I be in haste to give it my money? It may be in a great strait, and not know what to do: I cannot help that. It must help itself; do as I do. It is not worth the while to snivel about it. I am not responsible for the successful working of the machinery of society. I am not the son of the engineer. I perceive that, when an acorn and a chestnut fall side by side, the one does not remain inert to make way for the other, but both obey their own laws, and spring and grow and flourish as best they can, till one, perchance, overshadows and destroys the other. If a plant cannot live according to its nature, it dies; and so a man.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "freedom", "slug": "freedom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/freedom" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:51" }, { "id": "15a6266a-3c4c-46be-8396-d61a36a73a3d", "slug": "it-is-for", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/it-is-for", "text": "It is for no particular item in the tax-bill that I refuse to pay it. I simply wish to refuse allegiance to the State, to withdraw and stand aloof from it effectually. I do not care to trace the course of my dollar, if I could, till it buys a man or a musket to shoot one with — the dollar is innocent — but I am concerned to trace the effects of my allegiance. In fact, I quietly declare war with the State, after my fashion, though I will still make what use and get what advantage of her I can, as is usual in such cases.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Civil_Disobedience_(Thoreau)#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:51" }, { "id": "157d184c-e20a-419c-b3d1-5230aa1137cb", "slug": "if-a-thousand", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/if-a-thousand", "text": "If a thousand [citizens] were not to pay their tax-bills this year, that would not be a violent and bloody measure, as it would be to pay them, and enable the State to commit violence and shed innocent blood. This is, in fact, the definition of a peaceable revolution, if any such is possible.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:51" }, { "id": "100f85fa-0c5e-4033-9257-a6237252eae3", "slug": "the-broadest-and", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience/the-broadest-and", "text": "The broadest and most prevalent error requires the most disinterested virtue to sustain it. The slight reproach to which the virtue of patriotism is commonly liable, the noble are most likely to incur. Those who, while they disapprove of the character and measures of a government, yield to it their allegiance and support are undoubtedly its most conscientious supporters, and so frequently the most serious obstacles to reform. Some are petitioning the State to dissolve the Union,(1) to disregard the requisitions of the President. Why do they not dissolve it themselves — the union between themselves and the State — and refuse to pay their quota into its treasury? Do not they stand in the same relation to the State, that the State does to the Union? And have not the same reasons prevented the State from resisting the Union, which have prevented them from resisting the State?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "slug": "henry-david-thoreau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau" }, "book": { "title": "Civil Disobedience", "slug": "civil-disobedience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/henry-david-thoreau/civil-disobedience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Civil_Disobedience_(Thoreau)#Civil_Disobedience_(1849)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:51" }, { "id": "d3bf1998-77f6-4842-964e-4cbf3bb8323d", "slug": "thus-while-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/karl-marx/the-german-ideology/thus-while-the", "text": "Thus, while the refugee serfs only wished to be free to develop and assert those conditions of existence which were already there, and hence, in the end, only arrived at free labour, the proletarians, if they are to assert themselves as individuals, will have to abolish the very condition of their existence hitherto (which has, moreover, been that of all society up to the present), namely, labour. Thus they find themselves directly opposed to the form in which, hitherto, the individuals, of which society consists, have given themselves collective expression, that is, the State. In order, therefore, to assert themselves as individuals, they must overthrow the State.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Karl Marx", "slug": "karl-marx", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/karl-marx" }, "book": { "title": "The German Ideology", "slug": "the-german-ideology", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/karl-marx/the-german-ideology" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "work", "slug": "work", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/work" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Karl_Marx#The_German_Ideology_(1845-1846)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:49" }, { "id": "718d6aa4-dfb5-4784-82be-0f956b72eff6", "slug": "for-each-new", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/karl-marx/the-german-ideology/for-each-new", "text": "For each new class which puts itself in the place of one ruling before it, is compelled, merely in order to carry through its aim, to represent its interests the common interest of all the members of society, that is, sality, and represent them as the only rational, universally valid ones. The class making a revolution appears from the very start, if only because it is opposed to a class, not as a class but as the representative of the whole of society; it appears as the whole mass of society confronting the one ruling class.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Karl Marx", "slug": "karl-marx", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/karl-marx" }, "book": { "title": "The German Ideology", "slug": "the-german-ideology", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/karl-marx/the-german-ideology" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Karl_Marx#The_German_Ideology_(1845-1846)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:49" }, { "id": "4eefc3f8-b3dc-4b53-a4cc-325622b80b79", "slug": "communism-differs-from", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/karl-marx/the-german-ideology/communism-differs-from", "text": "Communism differs from all previous movements in that it overturns the basis of all earlier relations of production and intercourse, and for the first time consciously treats all natural premises as the creatures of hitherto existing men, strips them of their natural character and subjugates them to the power of the united individuals. Its organisation is, therefore, essentially economic, the material production of the conditions of this unity; it turns existing conditions into conditions of unity. The reality, which communism is creating, is precisely the true basis for rendering it impossible that anything should exist independently of individuals, insofar as reality is only a product of the preceding intercourse of individuals themselves.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Karl Marx", "slug": "karl-marx", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/karl-marx" }, "book": { "title": "The German Ideology", "slug": "the-german-ideology", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/karl-marx/the-german-ideology" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Karl_Marx#The_German_Ideology_(1845-1846)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:49" }, { "id": "a99e7a3d-431a-4ffc-bc63-2d1d5135549f", "slug": "the-fact-is-therefore", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/karl-marx/the-german-ideology/the-fact-is-therefore", "text": "The fact is, therefore, that definite individuals who are productively active in a definite way enter into these definite social and political relations. Empirical observation must in each separate instance bring out empirically, and without any mystification and speculation, the connection of the social and political structure with production. The social structure and the state are continually evolving out of the life-process of definite individuals, but of individuals, not as they appear in their own or other people's imagination, but as they really are; i.e. as they are effective, produce materially, and are active under definite material limits, presuppositions and conditions independent of their will. The production of ideas, of conceptions, of consciousness, is at first directly interwoven with the material activity and the material intercourse of men, the language of real life. Conceiving, thinking, the mental intercourse of men, appear at this stage as the direct efflux of their material behaviour. The same applies to mental production as expressed in the language of the politics, laws, morality, religion, metaphysics of a people. Men are the producers of their conception, ideas, etc. — real, active men, as they are conditioned by a definite development of their productive forces and of the intercourse corresponding to these, up to its furthest forms. Consciousness can never be anything else than conscious existence, and the existence of men is their actual life-process. If in all ideology men and their circumstances appear upside down as in a camera obscura, this phenomenon arises just as much from their historical life-process as the inversion of objects on the retina does from their physical life-process.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Karl Marx", "slug": "karl-marx", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/karl-marx" }, "book": { "title": "The German Ideology", "slug": "the-german-ideology", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/karl-marx/the-german-ideology" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Karl_Marx#The_German_Ideology_(1845-1846)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:48" }, { "id": "a207bc39-f959-4586-bd22-70da1b7de979", "slug": "communism-is-for", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/karl-marx/the-german-ideology/communism-is-for", "text": "Communism is for us not a state of affairs which is to be established, an ideal to which reality [will] have to adjust itself. We call communism the real movement which abolishes the present state of things. The conditions of this movement result from the premises now in existence.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Karl Marx", "slug": "karl-marx", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/karl-marx" }, "book": { "title": "The German Ideology", "slug": "the-german-ideology", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/karl-marx/the-german-ideology" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Karl_Marx#The_German_Ideology_(1845-1846)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:48" }, { "id": "47f1d480-595e-49d0-838a-60afb55aad34", "slug": "my-kind-of-loyalty", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/mark-twain/a-connecticut-yankee-in-king-arthurs-court/my-kind-of-loyalty", "text": "My kind of loyalty was loyalty to one's country, not to its institutions or its officeholders. The country is the real thing, the substantial thing, the eternal thing; it is the thing to watch over, and care for, and be loyal to; institutions are extraneous, they are its mere clothing, and clothing can wear out, become ragged, cease to be comfortable, cease to protect the body from winter, disease, and death. To be loyal to rags, to shout for rags, to worship rags, to die for rags—that is a loyalty of unreason, it is pure animal; it belongs to monarchy, was invented by monarchy; let monarchy keep it. I was from Connecticut, whose Constitution declares \"that all political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority and instituted for their benefit; and that they have at all times an undeniable and indefeasible right to alter their form of government in such a manner as they may think expedient.\" Under that gospel, the citizen who thinks he sees that the commonwealth's political clothes are worn out, and yet holds his peace and does not agitate for a new suit, is disloyal; he is a traitor. That he may be the only one who thinks he sees this decay, does not excuse him; it is his duty to agitate anyway, and it is the duty of the others to vote him down if they do not see the matter as he does. And now here I was, in a country where a right to say how the country should be governed was restricted to six persons in each thousand of its population. For the nine hundred and ninety-four to express dissatisfaction with the regnant system and propose to change it, would have made the whole six shudder as one man, it would have been so disloyal, so dishonorable, such putrid black treason. So to speak, I was become a stockholder in a corporation where nine hundred and ninety-four of the members furnished all the money and did all the work, and the other six elected themselves a permanent board of direction and took all the dividends. It seemed to me that what the nine hundred and ninety-four dupes needed was a new deal.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Mark Twain", "slug": "mark-twain", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/mark-twain" }, "book": { "title": "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court", "slug": "a-connecticut-yankee-in-king-arthurs-court", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/mark-twain/a-connecticut-yankee-in-king-arthurs-court" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "homeland", "slug": "homeland", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/homeland" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A_Connecticut_Yankee_in_King_Arthur's_Court#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:48" }, { "id": "3770f819-28fb-482a-8728-53eb467e01ee", "slug": "through-the-emancipation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/karl-marx/the-german-ideology/through-the-emancipation", "text": "Through the emancipation of private property from the community, the State has become a separate entity, beside and outside civil society; but is it nothing more than the form of organization which the bourgeois necessarily adopt both for internal and external purposes, for the mutual guarantee of their property and interests.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Karl Marx", "slug": "karl-marx", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/karl-marx" }, "book": { "title": "The German Ideology", "slug": "the-german-ideology", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/karl-marx/the-german-ideology" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 187, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Karl_Marx#The_German_Ideology_(1845-1846)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:48" }, { "id": "03fdf417-a84c-4af5-83b7-aafaae61e1fa", "slug": "a-man-cant", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/mark-twain/adventures-of-huckleberry-finn/a-man-cant", "text": "A man can’t get his rights in a govment like this. Sometimes I’ve a mighty notion to just leave the country for good and all.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Mark Twain", "slug": "mark-twain", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/mark-twain" }, "book": { "title": "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", "slug": "adventures-of-huckleberry-finn", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/mark-twain/adventures-of-huckleberry-finn" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "justice", "slug": "justice", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/justice" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Adventures_of_Huckleberry_Finn#Chapter_6", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:47" }, { "id": "1f20e0b3-ef37-4a96-97eb-eb682f644fc1", "slug": "i-wish-europe", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/mark-twain/the-innocents-abroad/i-wish-europe", "text": "I wish Europe would let Russia annihilate Turkey a little--not much, but enough to make it difficult to find the place again without a divining-rod or a diving-bell.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Mark Twain", "slug": "mark-twain", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/mark-twain" }, "book": { "title": "The Innocents Abroad", "slug": "the-innocents-abroad", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/mark-twain/the-innocents-abroad" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "war", "slug": "war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/war" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mark_Twain#The_Innocents_Abroad_(1869)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:44" }, { "id": "8e94bcd1-17da-4924-bb7c-83cab8cc2241", "slug": "it-helps-to-set", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/bill-gates/how-to-avoid-a-climate-disaster/it-helps-to-set", "text": "It helps to set ambitious goals and commit to meeting them, the way countries around the world did with the 2015 Paris Agreement. It’s easy to mock international agreements, but they’re part of how progress happens: If you like having an ozone layer, you can thank an international agreement called the Montreal Protocol.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Bill Gates", "slug": "bill-gates", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/bill-gates" }, "book": { "title": "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster", "slug": "how-to-avoid-a-climate-disaster", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/bill-gates/how-to-avoid-a-climate-disaster" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 215, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bill_Gates#How_to_Avoid_a_Climate_Disaster_(2021)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:43" }, { "id": "2221abfc-e6c9-4ddd-a1ea-c48169a492de", "slug": "as-a-citizen", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/bill-gates/how-to-avoid-a-climate-disaster/as-a-citizen", "text": "As a Citizen . . . Make calls, write letters, attend town halls. . . . [M]ake clear that this is an issue that will help determine how you vote. . . . Look locally as well as nationally. . . . Run for office.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Bill Gates", "slug": "bill-gates", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/bill-gates" }, "book": { "title": "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster", "slug": "how-to-avoid-a-climate-disaster", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/bill-gates/how-to-avoid-a-climate-disaster" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bill_Gates#How_to_Avoid_a_Climate_Disaster_(2021)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:43" }, { "id": "faa340aa-e662-499b-8dee-b34f9bc1f6d5", "slug": "in-case-youre", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry/best-state-ever/in-case-youre", "text": "In case you’re wondering how the local political establishment feels about a strip club operating in the middle of the main tourist area, here’s a fact you may find helpful: The owner of the Red Garter is Mick Rossi, who is a Key West city commissioner.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Dave Barry", "slug": "dave-barry", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry" }, "book": { "title": "Best. State. Ever.", "slug": "best-state-ever", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry/best-state-ever" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 214, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dave_Barry#Best._State._Ever.:_A_Florida_Man_Defends_His_Homeland_(2016)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:42" }, { "id": "d35b89b1-be3e-499d-aaf0-2d5a89b15ee6", "slug": "floridas-government-is-divided", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry/best-state-ever/floridas-government-is-divided", "text": "• Florida’s government is divided into three branches: the executive, the judicial and the criminal.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Dave Barry", "slug": "dave-barry", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry" }, "book": { "title": "Best. State. Ever.", "slug": "best-state-ever", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry/best-state-ever" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 43, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dave_Barry#Best._State._Ever.:_A_Florida_Man_Defends_His_Homeland_(2016)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:42" }, { "id": "7b5ac932-d045-4f8b-a494-f72930859a18", "slug": "gary-hart-was", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry/dave-barry-hits-below-the-beltway/gary-hart-was", "text": "[Gary] Hart was clearly the most attractive candidate, the only one with even a remote chance of beating Ronald Reagan, so naturally the Democrats selected: Walter Mondale. When Mondale accepted the nomination, he wooed the voter by informing them...that if they elected him as president, his first move would be to jack up their income taxes. Walter you sweet talker!", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Dave Barry", "slug": "dave-barry", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry" }, "book": { "title": "Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway", "slug": "dave-barry-hits-below-the-beltway", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry/dave-barry-hits-below-the-beltway" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dave_Barry#Dave_Barry_Hits_Below_the_Beltway_(2001)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:40" }, { "id": "1db95f03-64df-4dfd-8b33-80192752cf06", "slug": "but-when-it-came", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry/dave-barry-hits-below-the-beltway/but-when-it-came", "text": "But when it came to eloquence, George [H. W.] Bush was Winston Churchill compared with his vice president, the legendary J. Danforth Quayle. You never knew what Dan was going to say next, and the wonderful thing was, Dan clearly didn't know either. He'd be asked a question, and he'd start talking, and you could see in his eyes that he was thinking, Ohmigod I'm talking and I HAVE NO EARTHLY IDEA WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING RIGHT NOW!", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Dave Barry", "slug": "dave-barry", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry" }, "book": { "title": "Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway", "slug": "dave-barry-hits-below-the-beltway", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry/dave-barry-hits-below-the-beltway" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dave_Barry#Dave_Barry_Hits_Below_the_Beltway_(2001)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:40" }, { "id": "0c9f51a4-542a-43ea-b5b9-a25a077d6bdf", "slug": "a-lot-of-people", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry/dave-barry-hits-below-the-beltway/a-lot-of-people", "text": "A lot of people were very upset, especially people in Palm Beach County, who were saying that they had accidentally voted for Pat Buchanan, which was clearly a mistake. Even Pat Buchanan admitted this.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Dave Barry", "slug": "dave-barry", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry" }, "book": { "title": "Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway", "slug": "dave-barry-hits-below-the-beltway", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry/dave-barry-hits-below-the-beltway" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dave_Barry#Dave_Barry_Hits_Below_the_Beltway_(2001)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:40" }, { "id": "f4ec3ed7-b6d8-4944-9f70-6601666e8a54", "slug": "stalins-strategy-at-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry/dave-barry-slept-here/stalins-strategy-at-the", "text": "Stalin's strategy at the end of World War II was to acquire a small \"buffer zone between Russia and Germany, consisting of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Albania, and most of Germany. In an effort to garner public support in these nations, Stalin mounted a public-relations campaign around the upbeat theme \"Maybe We Won't Have Your Whole Family Shot,\" and in 1945 Eastern Europe decided to join the Communist bloc by a vote of 28,932,084,164,504,029-0. Heartened by this mandate, Stalin immediately ordered construction work to begin on the Iron Curtain, which was given its name by Sir Winston Churchill, who, in a historic anecdote at a dinner party, said, \"Madam, I may be drunk, but an iron curtain has descended upon BLEAAARRRGGGHHH.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Dave Barry", "slug": "dave-barry", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry" }, "book": { "title": "Dave Barry Slept Here", "slug": "dave-barry-slept-here", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry/dave-barry-slept-here" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 126, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "history", "slug": "history", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/history" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dave_Barry#Dave_Barry_Slept_Here:_A_Sort_of_History_of_the_United_States_(1989)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:39" }, { "id": "e3e4c454-08d2-459b-9c37-0591a93c19ee", "slug": "other-nations-are", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry/dave-barry-slept-here/other-nations-are", "text": "Other nations are not allowed to mess around with the internal affairs of nations in this hemisphere.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Dave Barry", "slug": "dave-barry", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry" }, "book": { "title": "Dave Barry Slept Here", "slug": "dave-barry-slept-here", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry/dave-barry-slept-here" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dave_Barry#Dave_Barry_Slept_Here:_A_Sort_of_History_of_the_United_States_(1989)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:39" }, { "id": "dfaa6af1-d4ea-496c-b4b1-2ea99a711fdf", "slug": "thus-was-born", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry/dave-barry-slept-here/thus-was-born", "text": "Thus was born the civil rights movement, an epic struggle that has required much sacrifice and pain, but which has enabled the United States to progress, in just three decades, from being a nation where blacks were forced to ride in the back of the bus, to being a nation where, due to federal cutbacks, there is no bus.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Dave Barry", "slug": "dave-barry", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry" }, "book": { "title": "Dave Barry Slept Here", "slug": "dave-barry-slept-here", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry/dave-barry-slept-here" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 138, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dave_Barry#Dave_Barry_Slept_Here:_A_Sort_of_History_of_the_United_States_(1989)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:39" }, { "id": "d079cfaa-f18a-49da-b25f-3daa8e79724e", "slug": "in-1948-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry/dave-barry-slept-here/in-1948-the", "text": "In 1948 the Democrats had little choice but to nominate President Truman, under the banner HE'S GOING TO LOSE. Everybody felt this way: the politicians, the press, the pollsters, the piccolo players, Peter Piper, everybody. The Republicans were so confident that they nominated an individual named Thomas Dewey, whose lone accomplishment was inventing the decimal system. Truman campaigned doggedly around the nation, but his cause appeared to be hopeless. A Dewey victory seemed so inevitable that on election night, the Chicago Tribune printed the famous front-page headline DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN. This was because Dewey had defeated Truman, who immediately threatened to drop an atomic bomb on Chicago, so everybody went ha-ha-ha-ha, just kidding, and wisely elected to have the feisty ex-haberdasher have another term.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Dave Barry", "slug": "dave-barry", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry" }, "book": { "title": "Dave Barry Slept Here", "slug": "dave-barry-slept-here", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry/dave-barry-slept-here" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 131, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "history", "slug": "history", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/history" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dave_Barry#Dave_Barry_Slept_Here:_A_Sort_of_History_of_the_United_States_(1989)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:39" }, { "id": "5933ceb2-6c81-43bb-9910-1b7e0ae84be2", "slug": "in-1980-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry/dave-barry-slept-here/in-1980-the", "text": "In 1980 the Democrats were pretty much stuck with Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale, who ran under the slogan \"Four More Years?\" The Republicans, meanwhile, had a spirited primary campaign season, which came down to a duel between Reagan and George Herbert Walker Norris Wainright Armoire Vestibule Pomegranate Bush IV, who had achieved a distinguished record of public service despite having a voice that sounded like he had just inhaled an entire blimp-load of helium.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Dave Barry", "slug": "dave-barry", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry" }, "book": { "title": "Dave Barry Slept Here", "slug": "dave-barry-slept-here", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry/dave-barry-slept-here" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 167, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dave_Barry#Dave_Barry_Slept_Here:_A_Sort_of_History_of_the_United_States_(1989)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:39" }, { "id": "4f83ce35-0f15-47f9-aaae-ce6935cb836b", "slug": "reagan-finally-won", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry/dave-barry-slept-here/reagan-finally-won", "text": "Reagan finally won the nomination by promoting \"Reaganomics\", an economic program based on the theory that the government could lower taxes while increasing spending and at the same time actually reduce the federal budget by sacrificing a live chicken by the light of a full moon. Bush charged that this amounted to \"voo-doo economics,\" which got him into hot water until he explained that what he meant to say was \"doo-doo economics.\" Satisfied, Reagan made Bush his vice-presidential nominee. The turning point in the election campaign came during the October 8 debate between Reagan and Carter, when Reagan's handlers came up with a shrewd strategy: No matter what Carter said, Reagan would respond by shaking his head in a sorrowful manner and saying: \"There you go again.\" This was brilliant, because (a) it required the candidate to remember only four words, and (b) he delivered them so believably that everything Carter said seemed like a lie. If Carter had stated that the Earth was round, Reagan would have shaken his head, saying, \"There you go again,\" and millions of voters would have said: \"Yeah! What does Carter think we are? Stupid?\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Dave Barry", "slug": "dave-barry", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry" }, "book": { "title": "Dave Barry Slept Here", "slug": "dave-barry-slept-here", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry/dave-barry-slept-here" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 167, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dave_Barry#Dave_Barry_Slept_Here:_A_Sort_of_History_of_the_United_States_(1989)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:39" }, { "id": "49629a2c-bc4d-43ff-b157-53ed33a5cad8", "slug": "that-is-where", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry/dave-barry-slept-here/that-is-where", "text": "That is where we stand today. And what lies ahead? Will we be able to solve our social and economic problems, clean up our environment, maybe even improve our technology to the point where we can land a manned spacecraft on Trump? Unfortunately, we cannot know what will happen in the future. If this book proves anything, it's that we don't even know what happened in the past. But we do know this: America is a strong and great country, and her people have withstood many trials and tribulations (More tribulations, actually, because many never went to trial.). And whatever problems lie ahead, we may be sure of one thing: that if we all work together and \"hang tough,\" there will come a day when this nation- maybe not in the next few years; maybe not even in our lifetimes; but someday- will see the end of \"Dick\" Nixon's political career. But we wouldn't bet on it.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Dave Barry", "slug": "dave-barry", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry" }, "book": { "title": "Dave Barry Slept Here", "slug": "dave-barry-slept-here", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dave-barry/dave-barry-slept-here" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 175, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dave_Barry#Dave_Barry_Slept_Here:_A_Sort_of_History_of_the_United_States_(1989)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:39" }, { "id": "04ac93fc-ba39-49a7-b6cd-67f544b7286f", "slug": "states-as-great", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/francis-bacon/the-advancement-of-learning/states-as-great", "text": "States as great engines move slowly.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Francis Bacon", "slug": "francis-bacon", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/francis-bacon" }, "book": { "title": "The Advancement of Learning", "slug": "the-advancement-of-learning", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/francis-bacon/the-advancement-of-learning" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Francis_Bacon#The_Advancement_of_Learning_(1605)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:38" }, { "id": "bb150279-92f8-4f21-9264-f7af332bde5f", "slug": "for-legislators-make", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/aristotle/nicomachean-ethics/for-legislators-make", "text": "For legislators make the citizens good by forming habits in them, and this is the wish of every legislator, and those who do not effect it miss their mark, and it is in this that a good constitution differs from a bad one.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Aristotle", "slug": "aristotle", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/aristotle" }, "book": { "title": "Nicomachean Ethics", "slug": "nicomachean-ethics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/aristotle/nicomachean-ethics" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "character", "slug": "character", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/character" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aristotle#Book_II", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:37" }, { "id": "d82c52a0-e123-4ddf-92a6-09a854813e9d", "slug": "political-necessities-sometimes", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-bernard-shaw/saint-joan/political-necessities-sometimes", "text": "Political necessities sometimes turn out to be political mistakes.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Bernard Shaw", "slug": "george-bernard-shaw", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-bernard-shaw" }, "book": { "title": "Saint Joan", "slug": "saint-joan", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-bernard-shaw/saint-joan" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Bernard_Shaw#Saint_Joan_(1923)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:37" }, { "id": "2c012d63-16d9-4d86-8fa8-f0b2ffc9d5db", "slug": "he-knows-nothing", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-bernard-shaw/major-barbara/he-knows-nothing", "text": "He knows nothing; and he thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Bernard Shaw", "slug": "george-bernard-shaw", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-bernard-shaw" }, "book": { "title": "Major Barbara", "slug": "major-barbara", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-bernard-shaw/major-barbara" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "stupidity", "slug": "stupidity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/stupidity" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Bernard_Shaw#Major_Barbara_(1905)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:35" }, { "id": "e41b2355-b607-486b-815a-4a8e97bb9546", "slug": "it-was-too", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dickens/a-tale-of-two-cities/it-was-too", "text": "It was too much the way of Monseigneur under his reverses as a refugee, and it was much too much the way of native British orthodoxy to talk of this terrible Revolution as if it were the one [and] only harvest ever known under the skies that had not been sown—as if nothing had ever been done, or omitted to be done, that had led to it—as if observers of the wretched millions in France, and of the misused and perverted resources that should have made them prosperous, had not seen it inevitably coming years before, and had not in plain words recorded what they saw. Such vapouring, combined with the extravagant plots of Monseigneur for the restoration of a state of things that had utterly exhausted itself, and worn out Heaven and earth as well as itself, was hard to be endured without some remonstrance by any sane man who knew the truth.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Charles Dickens", "slug": "charles-dickens", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dickens" }, "book": { "title": "A Tale of Two Cities", "slug": "a-tale-of-two-cities", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dickens/a-tale-of-two-cities" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "history", "slug": "history", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/history" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A_Tale_of_Two_Cities#Chapter_XXIV_-_Drawn_to_the_Loadstone_Rock", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:32" }, { "id": "aa3d2a1e-d43d-4b50-bd4c-6edcb01c113e", "slug": "before-that-unjust", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dickens/a-tale-of-two-cities/before-that-unjust", "text": "Before that unjust Tribunal, there was little or no order of procedure, ensuring to any accused person any reasonable hearing. There could have been no such Revolution, if all laws, forms, and ceremonies, had not first been so monstrously abused, that the suicidal vengeance of the Revolution was to scatter them all to the winds.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Charles Dickens", "slug": "charles-dickens", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dickens" }, "book": { "title": "A Tale of Two Cities", "slug": "a-tale-of-two-cities", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dickens/a-tale-of-two-cities" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "justice", "slug": "justice", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/justice" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A_Tale_of_Two_Cities#Chapter_IX_-_The_Game_Made", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:32" }, { "id": "f870839e-6c82-4b9f-8d8f-8382cfa3c7a1", "slug": "he-had-only", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/he-had-only", "text": "He had only one criticism, he said, to make of Mr. Pilkington's excellent and neighbourly speech. Mr. Pilkington had referred throughout to \"Animal Farm.\" He could not of course know—for he, Napoleon, was only now for the first time announcing it—that the name \"Animal Farm\" had been abolished. Henceforward the farm was to be known as \"The Manor Farm\"—which, he believed, was its correct and original name.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Chapter_10", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:31" }, { "id": "f349a3ce-3826-4b49-b651-ec5c87973a5b", "slug": "somehow-it-seemed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/somehow-it-seemed", "text": "Somehow it seemed as though the farm had grown richer without making the animals themselves any richer — except, of course, for the pigs and the dogs. Perhaps this was partly because there were so many pigs and so many dogs. It was not that these creatures did not work, after their fashion. There was, as Squealer was never tired of explaining, endless work in the supervision and organisation of the farm. Much of this work was of a kind that the other animals were too ignorant to understand.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Chapter_10", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:31" }, { "id": "e6d45649-2992-461d-97d4-7d615d325f52", "slug": "for-the-time", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/for-the-time", "text": "For the time being, certainly, it had been found necessary to make a readjustment of rations (Squealer always spoke of it as a \"readjustment,\" never as a \"reduction\"), but in comparison with the days of Jones, the improvement was enormous. Reading out the figures in a shrill, rapid voice, he proved to them in detail that they had more oats, more hay, more turnips than they had had in Jones's day, that they worked shorter hours, that their drinking water was of better quality, that they lived longer, that a larger proportion of their young ones survived infancy, and that they had more straw in their stalls and suffered less from fleas. The animals believed every word of it. Truth to tell, Jones and all he stood for had almost faded out of their memories. They knew that life nowadays was harsh and bare, that they were often hungry and often cold, and that they were usually working when they were not asleep. But doubtless it had been worse in the old days. They were glad to believe so. Besides, in those days they had been slaves and now they were free, and that made all the difference, as Squealer did not fail to point out.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "lies", "slug": "lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/lies" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Chapter_9", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:31" }, { "id": "e1ae0b2c-7983-453b-8e1a-1d694c3a7465", "slug": "a-few-days", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/a-few-days", "text": "A few days later, when the terror caused by the executions had died down, some of the animals remembered--or thought they remembered--that the Sixth Commandment decreed \"No animal shall kill any other animal.\" And though no one cared to mention it in the hearing of the pigs or the dogs, it was felt that the killings which had taken place did not square with this. Clover asked Benjamin to read her the Sixth Commandment, and when Benjamin, as usual, said that he refused to meddle in such matters, she fetched Muriel. Muriel read the Commandment for her. It ran: \"No animal shall kill any other animal WITHOUT CAUSE.\" Somehow or other, the last two words had slipped out of the animals' memory. But they saw now that the Commandment had not been violated; for clearly there was good reason for killing the traitors who had leagued themselves with Snowball.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "lies", "slug": "lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/lies" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Chapter_8", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:31" }, { "id": "e0877035-24b6-4425-a486-dc6e99b5ae6c", "slug": "twelve-voices-were", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/twelve-voices-were", "text": "Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Chapter_10", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:31" }, { "id": "d83349db-f100-4dc8-8d37-493a883a38de", "slug": "four-legs-good-two", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/four-legs-good-two", "text": "Four legs good, two legs better!", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "hypocrisy", "slug": "hypocrisy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hypocrisy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Chapter_10", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:31" }, { "id": "c43ba313-d1c6-40c3-90bc-f0e7e84f4caa", "slug": "but-by-and", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/but-by-and", "text": "But by and large the animals enjoyed these celebrations. They found it comforting to be reminded that, after all, they were truly their own masters and that the work they did was for their own benefit. So that, what with the songs, the processions, Squealer's lists of figures, the thunder of the gun, the crowing of the cockerel, and the fluttering of the flag, they were able to forget that their bellies were empty, at least part of the time.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "illusions", "slug": "illusions", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/illusions" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Chapter_9", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:31" }, { "id": "9721ba0a-3faa-48e9-b41a-3c6950e2df7d", "slug": "napoleon-was-now", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/napoleon-was-now", "text": "Napoleon was now never spoken of simply as \"Napoleon.\" He was always referred to in formal style as \"our Leader, Comrade Napoleon,\" and this pigs liked to invent for him such titles as Father of All Animals, Terror of Mankind, Protector of the Sheep-fold, Ducklings' Friend, and the like. In his speeches, Squealer would talk with the tears rolling down his cheeks of Napoleon's wisdom, the goodness of his heart, and the deep love he bore to all animals everywhere, even and especially the unhappy animals who still lived in ignorance and slavery on other farms. It had become usual to give Napoleon the credit for every successful achievement and every stroke of good fortune. You would often hear one hen remark to another, \"Under the guidance of our Leader, Comrade Napoleon, I have laid five eggs in six days\"; or two cows, enjoying a drink at the pool, would exclaim, \"Thanks to the leadership of Comrade Napoleon, how excellent this water tastes!\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Chapter_8", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:31" }, { "id": "6dd3047f-e10b-4e18-93dd-1181e06397ea", "slug": "but-if-there", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/but-if-there", "text": "But if there were hardships to be borne, they were partly offset by the fact that life nowadays had a greater dignity than it had had before. There were more songs, more speeches, more processions. Napoleon had commanded that once a week there should be held something called a Spontaneous Demonstration, the object of which was to celebrate the struggles and triumphs of Animal Farm. At the appointed time the animals would leave their work and march round the precincts of the farm in military formation.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Chapter_9", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:31" }, { "id": "5753b9b7-a59c-4084-a49e-8d251a1da702", "slug": "all-animals-are", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/all-animals-are", "text": "ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL, BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "hypocrisy", "slug": "hypocrisy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hypocrisy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Chapter_10", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:31" }, { "id": "3bae0912-647e-484b-a282-d28bbe3070fd", "slug": "as-clover-looked", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/as-clover-looked", "text": "As Clover looked down the hillside her eyes filled with tears. If she could have spoken her thoughts, it would have been to say that this was not what they had aimed at when they had set themselves years ago to work for the overthrow of the human race. These scenes of terror and slaughter were not what they had looked forward to on that night when old Major first stirred them to rebellion. If she herself had had any picture of the future, it had been of a society of animals set free from hunger and the whip, all equal, each working according to his capacity, the strong protecting the weak, as she had protected the lost brood of ducklings with her foreleg on the night of Major's speech. Instead--she did not know why--they had come to a time when no one dared speak his mind, when fierce, growling dogs roamed everywhere, and when you had to watch your comrades torn to pieces after confessing to shocking crimes. There was no thought of rebellion or disobedience in her mind. She knew that, even as things were, they were far better off than they had been in the days of Jones, and that before all else it was needful to prevent the return of the human beings. Whatever happened she would remain faithful, work hard, carry out the orders that were given to her, and accept the leadership of Napoleon. But still, it was not for this that she and all the other animals had hoped and toiled.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "disappointment", "slug": "disappointment", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/disappointment" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Chapter_7", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:31" }, { "id": "cde8d3ed-0942-41a0-ac4a-15810ec790c6", "slug": "remember-comrades-your", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/remember-comrades-your", "text": "Remember, comrades, your resolution must never falter. No argument must lead you astray. Never listen when they tell you that Man and the animals have a common interest, that the prosperity of the one is the prosperity of the others. It is all lies. Man serves the interests of no creature except himself. And among us animals let there be perfect unity, perfect comradeship in the struggle. All men are enemies. All animals are comrades.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Chapter_1", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:30" }, { "id": "c097f97e-a77b-48ed-82de-81ae206e86ff", "slug": "is-it-not", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/is-it-not", "text": "Is it not crystal clear, then, comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings? Only get rid of Man, and the produce of our labour would be our own. Almost overnight we could become rich and free. What then must we do? Why, work night and day, body and soul, for the overthrow of the human race! That is my message to you, comrades: Rebellion!", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "freedom", "slug": "freedom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/freedom" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Chapter_1", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:30" }, { "id": "bbac8450-afdc-4659-a864-ff7f1a0ea6f1", "slug": "the-mystery-of-where", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/the-mystery-of-where", "text": "The mystery of where the milk went to was soon cleared up. It was mixed every day into the pigs' mash. The early apples were now ripening, and the grass of the orchard was littered with windfalls. The animals had assumed as a matter of course that these would be shared out equally; one day, however, the order went forth that all the windfalls were to be collected and brought to the harness-room for the use of the pigs. At this some of the other animals murmured, but it was no use. All the pigs were in full agreement on this point, even Snowball and Napoleon. Squealer was sent to make the necessary explanations to the others. \"Comrades!\" he cried. \"You do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are doing this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege? Many of us actually dislike milk and apples. I dislike them myself. Our sole object in taking these things is to preserve our health. Milk and apples (this has been proved by Science, comrades) contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig. We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management and organisation of this farm depend on us. Day and night we are watching over your welfare. It is for YOUR sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples. Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back! Yes, Jones would come back! Surely, comrades,\" cried Squealer almost pleadingly, skipping from side to side and whisking his tail, \"surely there is no one among you who wants to see Jones come back?\" Now if there was one thing that the animals were completely certain of, it was that they did not want Jones back. When it was put to them in this light, they had no more to say. The importance of keeping the pigs in good health was all too obvious. So it was agreed without further argument that the milk and the windfall apples (and also the main crop of apples when they ripened) should be reserved for the pigs alone.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "lies", "slug": "lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/lies" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Chapter_3", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:30" }, { "id": "b13b71d9-55b6-4287-bd06-07384f6c945f", "slug": "rumours-of-a-wonderful", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/rumours-of-a-wonderful", "text": "Rumours of a wonderful farm, where the human beings had been turned out and the animals managed their own affairs, continued to circulate in vague and distorted forms, and throughout that year a wave of rebelliousness ran through the countryside.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "freedom", "slug": "freedom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/freedom" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Chapter_4", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:30" }, { "id": "a1054151-2048-4431-97fe-c22f2df16f4d", "slug": "the-servility-with", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/the-servility-with", "text": "The servility with which the greater part of the English intelligentsia have swallowed and repeated Russian propaganda from 1941 onwards would be quite astounding if it were not that they have behaved similarly on several earlier occasions. On one controversial issue after another the Russian viewpoint has been accepted without examination and then publicised with complete disregard to historical truth or intellectual decency.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "truth", "slug": "truth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/truth" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Preface", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:30" }, { "id": "68017f12-2e9c-4bec-a4c1-2315a7a7cad2", "slug": "four-legs-good", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/four-legs-good", "text": "Four legs good, two legs bad.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Chapter_3", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:30" }, { "id": "62875780-3e41-4e86-b763-e9d3f3f32a4e", "slug": "comrades-do-you", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/comrades-do-you", "text": "Comrades, do you know who is responsible for this? Do you know the enemy who has come in the night and overthrown our windmill? SNOWBALL!", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Chapter_6", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:30" }, { "id": "54921c78-9e65-492a-bd9c-415468534505", "slug": "old-benjamin-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/old-benjamin-the", "text": "Old Benjamin, the donkey, seemed quite unchanged since the Rebellion. He did his work in the same slow obstinate way as he had done it in Jones's time, never shirking and never volunteering for extra work either. About the Rebellion and its results he would express no opinion. When asked whether he was not happier now that Jones was gone, he would say only \"Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey,\" and the others had to be content with this cryptic answer.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Chapter_3", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:30" }, { "id": "3f5a7d99-9738-49b5-b68d-1c065a2710e0", "slug": "in-our-country", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/in-our-country", "text": "In our country — it is not the same in all countries: it was not so in republican France, and it is not so in the USA today — it is the liberals who fear liberty and the intellectuals who want to do dirt on the intellect: it is to draw attention to that fact that I have written this preface.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "freedom", "slug": "freedom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/freedom" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Preface", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:30" }, { "id": "321a5151-3001-45db-9bca-de1e61a2db81", "slug": "i-have-little", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/i-have-little", "text": "I have little more to say. I merely repeat, remember always your duty of enmity towards Man and all his ways. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. And remember also that in fighting against Man, we must not come to resemble him. Even when you have conquered him, do not adopt his vices. No animal must ever live in a house, or sleep in a bed, or wear clothes, or drink alcohol, or smoke tobacco, or touch money, or engage in trade. All the habits of Man are evil. And, above all, no animal must ever tyrannise over his own kind. Weak or strong, clever or simple, we are all brothers. No animal must ever kill any other animal. All animals are equal.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Chapter_1", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:30" }, { "id": "31f740b9-32bc-405c-97c2-3a4cf130235a", "slug": "why-then-do-we-continue", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/why-then-do-we-continue", "text": "Why then do we continue in this miserable condition? Because nearly the whole of the produce of our labour is stolen from us by human beings. There, comrades, is the answer to all our problems. It is summed up in a single word--Man. Man is the only real enemy we have. Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished for ever.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "society", "slug": "society", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/society" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Chapter_1", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:30" }, { "id": "31b43720-22b0-483a-b080-c13066511657", "slug": "that-evening-squealer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/that-evening-squealer", "text": "That evening Squealer explained privately to the other animals that Napoleon had never in reality been opposed to the windmill. On the contrary, it was he who had advocated it in the beginning, and the plan which Snowball had drawn on the floor of the incubator shed had actually been stolen from among Napoleon's papers. The windmill was, in fact, Napoleon's own creation. Why, then, asked somebody, had he spoken so strongly against it? Here Squealer looked very sly. That, he said, was Comrade Napoleon's cunning. He had SEEMED to oppose the windmill, simply as a manoeuvre to get rid of Snowball, who was a dangerous character and a bad influence. Now that Snowball was out of the way, the plan could go forward without his interference. This, said Squealer, was something called tactics. He repeated a number of times, \"Tactics, comrades, tactics!\" skipping round and whisking his tail with a merry laugh. The animals were not certain what the word meant, but Squealer spoke so persuasively, and the three dogs who happened to be with him growled so threateningly, that they accepted his explanation without further questions.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "lies", "slug": "lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/lies" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Chapter_5", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:30" }, { "id": "2cf7f03d-c292-4f92-af7b-98fc2a5defa1", "slug": "the-vote-was", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/the-vote-was", "text": "The vote was taken at once, and it was agreed by an overwhelming majority that rats were comrades. There were only four dissentients, the three dogs and the cat, who was afterwards discovered to have voted on both sides.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Chapter_1", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:30" }, { "id": "2b7bc03d-1f21-4231-9775-8acaa1470b59", "slug": "ah-that-is-different", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/ah-that-is-different", "text": "\"Ah, that is different!\" said Boxer. \"If Comrade Napoleon says it, it must be right.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Chapter_7", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:30" }, { "id": "1ae70690-2c53-4f1a-9073-4a4a8e5ebd07", "slug": "if-the-fable", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/if-the-fable", "text": "\"If the fable were addressed generally to dictators and dictatorships at large then publication would be all right, but the fable does follow, as I see now, so completely the progress of the Russian Soviets and their two dictators, that it can apply only to Russia, to the exclusion of the other dictatorships. Another thing: it would be less offensive if the predominant caste in the fable were not pigs. I think the choice of pigs as the ruling caste will no doubt give offence to many people, and particularly to anyone who is a bit touchy, as undoubtedly the Russians are.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Preface", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:30" }, { "id": "18c9f4ea-8f4b-4651-a240-27aad9caf31b", "slug": "do-not-imagine", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/do-not-imagine", "text": "Do not imagine, comrades, that leadership is a pleasure. On the contrary, it is a deep and heavy responsibility. No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Animal Farm", "slug": "animal-farm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/animal-farm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Chapter_5", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:30" }, { "id": "82c124d7-559d-40c2-bfc0-c436bab94c5a", "slug": "the-trouble-with", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/martin-luther-king-jr/strength-to-love/the-trouble-with", "text": "The trouble with Communism is that it has neither a theology nor a Christology; therefore it emerges with a mixed-up anthropology. Confused about God, it is also confused about man. In spite of its glowing talk about the welfare of the masses, Communism's methods and philosophy strip man of his dignity and worth, leaving him as little more than a depersonalized cog in the ever-turning wheel of the state.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Martin Luther King, Jr.", "slug": "martin-luther-king-jr", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/martin-luther-king-jr" }, "book": { "title": "Strength to Love", "slug": "strength-to-love", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/martin-luther-king-jr/strength-to-love" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "dignity", "slug": "dignity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/dignity" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr.#Strength_to_Love_(1963)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:29" }, { "id": "516833f0-49db-40c1-8f3c-8c481b933a03", "slug": "fascism-was-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/winston-s-churchill/the-second-world-war-closing-the-ring/fascism-was-the", "text": "Fascism was the shadow or ugly child of communism... As Fascism sprang from Communism, so Nazism developed from Fascism. Thus were set on foot those kindred movements which were destined soon to plunge the world into more hideous strife, which none can say has ended with their destruction.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Winston S. Churchill", "slug": "winston-s-churchill", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/winston-s-churchill" }, "book": { "title": "The Second World War: Closing The Ring", "slug": "the-second-world-war-closing-the-ring", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/winston-s-churchill/the-second-world-war-closing-the-ring" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 13, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "war", "slug": "war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/war" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "history", "slug": "history", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/history" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill#The_Second_World_War_(book_series)_(1948%E2%80%931953)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:29" }, { "id": "37619488-bf28-4c61-8999-8564dd739a20", "slug": "by-noon-it-was", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/winston-s-churchill/the-second-world-war-closing-the-ring/by-noon-it-was", "text": "By noon it was clear that the Socialists would have a majority. At luncheon my wife said to me, 'It may well be a blessing in disguise.' I replied, 'At the moment it seems quite effectively disguised.'", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Winston S. Churchill", "slug": "winston-s-churchill", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/winston-s-churchill" }, "book": { "title": "The Second World War: Closing The Ring", "slug": "the-second-world-war-closing-the-ring", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/winston-s-churchill/the-second-world-war-closing-the-ring" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 583, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill#The_Second_World_War_(book_series)_(1948%E2%80%931953)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:29" }, { "id": "30a0f73a-b894-49f4-9027-56cd131023c5", "slug": "second-communism-is-based", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/martin-luther-king-jr/strength-to-love/second-communism-is-based", "text": "Second, Communism is based on ethical relativism and accepts no stable moral absolutes. Right and wrong are relative to the most expedient methods for dealing with class war. Communism exploits the dreadful philosophy that the end justifies the means. It enunciates movingly the theory of a classless society, but alas! its methods for achieving this noble end are all too often ignoble. Lying, violence, murder, and torture are considered to be justifiable means to achieve the millennial end. Is this an unfair indictment? Listen to the words of Lenin, the real tactician of Communist theory: ‘We must be ready to employ trickery, deceit, lawbreaking, withholding and concealing truth.’ Modem history has known many tortuous nights and horror-filled days because his followers have taken this statement serious.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Martin Luther King, Jr.", "slug": "martin-luther-king-jr", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/martin-luther-king-jr" }, "book": { "title": "Strength to Love", "slug": "strength-to-love", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/martin-luther-king-jr/strength-to-love" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "morality", "slug": "morality", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/morality" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr.#Strength_to_Love_(1963)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:29" }, { "id": "2cdd9117-2f40-4df8-9e10-42860d126168", "slug": "third-communism-attributes", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/martin-luther-king-jr/strength-to-love/third-communism-attributes", "text": "Third, Communism attributes ultimate value to the state. Man is made for the state and not the state for man. One may object, saying that in Communist theory the state is an ‘interim reality,’ which will ‘wither away’ when the classless society emerges. True--in theory; but it is also true that, while it lasts, the state is the end. Man is a means to that end. Man has no inalienable rights. His only rights are derived from, and conferred by, the state. Under such a system, the fountain of freedom runs dry. Restricted are man's liberties of press and assembly, his freedom to vote, and his freedom to listen and to read. Art, religion, education, music, and science come under the gripping yoke of government control. Man must be a dutiful servant to the omnipotent state.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Martin Luther King, Jr.", "slug": "martin-luther-king-jr", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/martin-luther-king-jr" }, "book": { "title": "Strength to Love", "slug": "strength-to-love", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/martin-luther-king-jr/strength-to-love" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "freedom", "slug": "freedom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/freedom" }, { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr.#Strength_to_Love_(1963)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:29" }, { "id": "015d1218-db88-41b8-9d89-ab88b293727d", "slug": "baldwin-stanley-confesses", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/winston-s-churchill/the-second-world-war-closing-the-ring/baldwin-stanley-confesses", "text": "Baldwin, Stanley ... confesses putting party before country, 169-70; ...", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Winston S. Churchill", "slug": "winston-s-churchill", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/winston-s-churchill" }, "book": { "title": "The Second World War: Closing The Ring", "slug": "the-second-world-war-closing-the-ring", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/winston-s-churchill/the-second-world-war-closing-the-ring" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill#The_Second_World_War_(book_series)_(1948%E2%80%931953)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:29" } ] }