The quotations of

Alexis de Tocqueville

French political thinker and historian, minister of Foreign Affairs

1805–1859

39 quotes, most often on America, Democracy and Freedom.

We succeed in enterprises which demand the positive qualities we possess, but we excel in those which can also make use of our defects.
- Success
The genius of democracies is seen not only in the great number of new words introduced but even more in the new ideas they express.
Democracy in America, Volume II (1840), Book One, Chapter XVI.
- Democracy
- Ideas
Those that despise people will never get the best out of others and themselves.
Quotes by Tocqueville Alexis De, p. 4.
It is the dissimilarities and inequalities among men which give rise to the notion of honor; as such differences become less, it grows feeble; and when they disappear, it will vanish too.
Democracy in America, Volume II (1840), Book Three, Chapter XVIII.
- Honor
A democratic government is the only one in which those who vote for a tax can escape the obligation to pay it.
Democracy in America, Volume I (1835), Chapter XIII.
- Democracy
- Economics
The last thing a political party gives up is its vocabulary.
France Before The Consulate, Chapter I: “How the Republic was ready to accept a master”, in Memoir, Letters, and Remains, Vol I (1862), p. 266
- Politics
In America the majority raises formidable barriers around the liberty of opinion; within these barriers an author may write what he pleases, but woe to him if he goes beyond them.
Democracy in America, Volume I (1835), Chapter XV, in a section titled Tryanny of the Majority.
- America
Consider any individual at any period of his life, and you will always find him preoccupied with fresh plans to increase his comfort.
Democracy in America, Volume II (1840), Book Three, Chapter XXI.
The Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other.
Democracy in America, Volume I (1835), Chapter XVII.
There is hardly a political question in the United States which does not sooner or later turn into a judicial one.
Democracy in America, ed. J. P. Mayer, trans. George Lawrence, vol. 1, part 2, chapter 8, p. 270 (1969). Originally published in 1835–1840.
- America
- Laws
He was as great as a man can be without morality.
Said of Napoleon (1842), “Discours de réception a L’Académie Française prononcé le 21 Avril 1842” Oeuvres complètes, vol. IX, p. 17
- Morality
When American(s) ask for the cooperation of (their) fellow citizens, it is seldom refused; and I have often seen it afforded spontaneously and with great good will.
- America
Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.
12 September 1848, “Discours prononcé à l’assemblée constituante le 12 Septembre 1848 sur la question du droit au travail”, Oeuvres complètes, vol. IX, p. 546
- Democracy
The health of a democratic society may be measured by the quality of functions performed by private citizens.
- Democracy
The surface of American society is covered with a layer of democratic paint, but from time to time one can see the old aristocratic colours breaking through.
Democracy in America, Volume I (1835), Chapter II.
- America

Most quoted

People A to Z

C. S. Lewis1898–1963151 quotes

Mark Twain1835–1910151 quotes

Benjamin Franklin1706–179098 quotes

Martin Luther King Jr.1929–196884 quotes

Albert Einstein1879–195595 quotes

Dave Barryborn 1947100 quotes