Maxioms by James Fenimore Cooper
It is a governing principle of nature, that the agency which can produce most good, when perverted from its proper read more
It is a governing principle of nature, that the agency which can produce most good, when perverted from its proper aim, is most productive of evil. It behooves the well-intentioned, therefore, vigorously to watch the tendency of even their most highly prized institutions, since that which was established in the interests of the right, may so easily become the agent of the wrong.
...no civilized society can long exist, with an active power in its bosom that is stronger than the law.
...no civilized society can long exist, with an active power in its bosom that is stronger than the law.
All that a good government aims at...is to add no unnecessary and artificial aid to the force of its own read more
All that a good government aims at...is to add no unnecessary and artificial aid to the force of its own unavoidable consequences, and to abstain from fortifying and accumulating social inequality as a means of increasing political inequalities.
They who have reasoned ignorantly, or who have aimed at effecting their personal ends by flattering the popular feeling, have read more
They who have reasoned ignorantly, or who have aimed at effecting their personal ends by flattering the popular feeling, have boldly affirmed that "one man is as good as another;" a maxim that is true in neither nature, revealed morals, nor political theory.
Equality, in a social sense, may be divided into that of condition, and that of rights. Equality of condition is read more
Equality, in a social sense, may be divided into that of condition, and that of rights. Equality of condition is incompatible with civilization, and is found only to exist in those communities that are but slightly removed from the savage state. In practice, it can only mean a common misery.
