David Hume - Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Napoleon Bonaparte - Abraham Lincoln - Duc de Levis - Samuel Adams - Albert Camus - William Penn - Aesop - Lord Acton - Rene Descartes - Vladimir Lenin - Auguste Comte - Victor Kiam - Mencius - Baruch Spinoza - Charles de Gaulle - Andrew Johnson - Francois Rabelais - William Shakespeare - Otto von Bismarck - Henry van Dyke - House of Cards US 2013-2018 - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe -
To see the easiness with which the many are governed by the few; and to observe the implicit submission with which men resign their own sentiments and passions to those of their rulers. When we enquire by what means this wonder is brought about, we shall find, that as Force is always on the side of the governed, the governors have nothing to support them but opinion. ’Tis therefore, on opinion only that government is founded; and this maxim extends to the most despotic and most military governments, as well as to the most free and most popular. David Hume
In the strict sense of the term, a true democracy has never existed, and never will exist. It is against natural order that the great number should govern and that the few should be governed. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract III:4
In order to govern, the question is not to follow out a more or less valid theory but to build with whatever materials are at hand. The inevitable must be accepted and turned to advantage. Napoleon Bonaparte
No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent. I say this is the leading principle, the sheet-anchor of American republicanism ... Now the relation of master and slave is pro tanto a total violation of this principle. The master not only governs the slave without his consent, but he governs him by a set of rules altogether different from those which he prescribes for himself. Allow ALL the governed an equal voice in the government, and that, and that only, is self-government. Abraham Lincoln, speech Peoria Illinois
To govern is to choose. Duc de Levis, Maximes et Reflexions, 1812
Mankind are governed more by their feelings than by reason. Samuel Adams, 1722-1803
To govern means to pillage, as everyone knows. Albert Camus
Let the people think they govern and they will be governed. William Penn
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. Aesop
Every class is unfit to govern. Lord Acton
A state is better governed which has few laws, and those laws strictly observed. Rene Descartes
To rule is easy, to govern difficult. Rene Descartes
Every cook has to learn how to govern the state. Vladimir Lenin
The dead govern the living. Auguste Comte
You can only govern men by serving them. The rule is without exception. Victor Kiam
It is not difficult to govern. All one has to do is not to offend the noble families. Mencius
Men govern nothing with more difficulty than their tongues, and can moderate their desires more than their words. Baruch Spinoza
To govern is always to choose among disadvantages. Charles de Gaulle
Who, then, will govern? The answer must be, Man – for we have no angels in the shape of men, as yet, who are willing to take charge of our political affairs. Andrew Johnson
How can I govern others, who can’t even govern myself? Francois Rabelais
I would with such perfection govern, sir,
T’excel the Golden Age. William Shakespeare, The Tempest II i 172-173, Gonzalo
The king reigns but does not govern. Otto von Bismarck
Man said, ‘I am tired of kings!
Sons of the robber-chiefs of yore,
They make me pay for their lust and their war;
I am the puppet, they pull the strings;
The blood of my heart is the wine they drink.
I will govern myself for awhile I think,
And see what that brings!’ Henry van Dyke, Remarks about Kings
We are doomed if we allow the dead to govern us. House of Cards US s3e7: Chapter 33, Frank, Netflix 2015
The best government is that which teaches us to govern ourselves. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe