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

“America is a land of wonders, in which everything is in constant motion and every change seems an improvement.”

“I follow the course marked out by my principles and, what is more, enjoy a deep and noble pleasure in following it. You deeply despise the human race, at least our part of it; you think it not only fallen but incapable of ever rising again... For my part, as I feel neither the right nor the wish to entertain such opinions of my species and my country, I think it is not necessary to despair of them. In my opinion, human societies, like individuals, amount to something only in liberty...And God forbid that my mind should ever be crossed by the thought that it is necessary to despair of success... You will allow me to have less confidence in your teaching than in the goodness and justice of God.”

“I do not know if the people of the United States would vote for superior men if they ran for office, but there can be no doubt that such men do not run.”

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

“The more alike men are, the weaker each feels in the face of all.”

“The happy and powerful do not go into exile, and there are no surer guarantees of equality among men than poverty and misfortune.”