By and large the literature of a democracy will never exhibit the order, regularity, skill, and art characteristic of aristocratic literature; formal qualities will be neglected or actually despised. The style will often be strange, incorrect, overburdened, and loose, and…

Quote by Alexis De Tocqueville

Topics: Alexis De Tocqueville Quotes

The Americans combine the notions of religion and liberty so intimately in their minds, that...

The Americans combine the notions of religion and liberty so intimately in their minds, that...

The whole life of an American is passed like a game of chance, a revolutionary...

The whole life of an American is passed like a game of chance, a revolutionary...

Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference:...

Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference:...

'The will of the nation' is one of those expressions which have been most profusely...

'The will of the nation' is one of those expressions which have been most profusely...

The main business of religions is to purify, control, and restrain that excessive and exclusive...

The main business of religions is to purify, control, and restrain that excessive and exclusive...

Grant me thirty years of equal division of inheritances and a free press, and I...

Grant me thirty years of equal division of inheritances and a free press, and I...

History is a gallery of pictures in which there are few originals and many copies

History is a gallery of pictures in which there are few originals and many copies

Americans are so enamored of equality that they would rather be equal in slavery than...

Americans are so enamored of equality that they would rather be equal in slavery than...

I should have loved freedom, I believe, at all times, but in the time in...

I should have loved freedom, I believe, at all times, but in the time in...

A democratic government is the only one in which those who vote for a tax...

A democratic government is the only one in which those who vote for a tax...

An American cannot converse, but he can discuss, and his talk falls into a dissertation....

An American cannot converse, but he can discuss, and his talk falls into a dissertation....

Those that despise people will never get the best out of others and themselves.

Those that despise people will never get the best out of others and themselves.

In a revolution, as in a novel, the most difficult part to invent is the...

In a revolution, as in a novel, the most difficult part to invent is the...

In politics... shared hatreds are almost always the basis of friendships.

In politics... shared hatreds are almost always the basis of friendships.

The most dangerous moment for a bad government is when it begins to reform.

The most dangerous moment for a bad government is when it begins to reform.

The surface of American society is covered with a layer of democratic paint, but from...

The surface of American society is covered with a layer of democratic paint, but from...

Consider any individual at any period of his life, and you will always find him...

Consider any individual at any period of his life, and you will always find him...

It is the dissimilarities and inequalities among men which give rise to the notion of...

It is the dissimilarities and inequalities among men which give rise to the notion of...

There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no...

There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no...

In the United States, the majority undertakes to supply a multitude of ready-made opinions for...

In the United States, the majority undertakes to supply a multitude of ready-made opinions for...