The Commonwealth of Oceana Quotes

“What convenience is there for debate in a crowd, where there is nothing but jostling, treading upon one another, and stirring of blood, than which in this case there is nothing more dangerous?”
― James Harrington, The Commonwealth of Oceana

“Government is no other than the soul of a city or nation.”
― James Harrington, The Common-wealth of Oceana ..

“Government (to define it de jure, or according to ancient prudence) is an art whereby a civil society of men is instituted and preserved upon the foundation of common right or interest; or, to follow Aristotle and Livy, it is the empire of laws, and not of men.

And government (to define it de facto, or according to modern prudence) is an art whereby some man, or some few men, subject a city or a nation, and rule it according to his or their private interest; which, because the laws in such cases are made according to the interest of a man, or of some few families, may be said to be the empire of men, and not of laws.”
― James Harrington, The Common-Wealth of Oceana: Dedicated to His Highnesse the Lord Protector of the Common-Wealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland