Quote_tiny quotable quote

James Madison
"If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions."
James Madison (The Federalist Papers)






friends who like this quote (0)


To see what your friends thought of this quote, please sign up!

all quotes
my quotes




popular tags

humor (7932)
inspirational (6451)
love (4289)
life (4155)
writing (1583)
books (1222)
poetry (1100)
death (1026)
philosophy (1026)
religion (1011)
funny (963)
truth (955)
wisdom (921)
music (845)
god (790)
science (776)
reading (725)
politics (705)
art (701)
the (688)
romance (631)
friendship (618)
women (552)
inspiration (539)
happiness (524)
war (494)
fiction (481)
movie (418)
education (401)
freedom (398)

More...

Or enter a tag: