My kind of loyalty was loyalty to one's country, not to its institutions or its officeholders. The country is the real thing, the substantial thing, the eternal thing; it is the thing to watch over, and care for, and be loyal to institutions are extraneous, they are its mere clothing, and clothing can wear out, become ragged, cease to be comfortable, cease to protect the body from winter, disease, and death.
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There is no greater sign of a general decay of virtue in a nation, than a want of zeal in read more
There is no greater sign of a general decay of virtue in a nation, than a want of zeal in its inhabitants for the good of their country.
The most certain test by which we judge whether a country is really free is the amount of security enjoyed read more
The most certain test by which we judge whether a country is really free is the amount of security enjoyed by minorities.
You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline - it helps if you have read more
You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline - it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer
Official dignity tends to increase in inverse ratio to the importance of the country in which the office is held.
Official dignity tends to increase in inverse ratio to the importance of the country in which the office is held.
There is no such thing as a little country. The greatness of a people is no more determined by their read more
There is no such thing as a little country. The greatness of a people is no more determined by their number than the greatness of a man is determined by his height.
Even as a tree has a single trunk, but many branches and leaves, there is one religion but any number read more
Even as a tree has a single trunk, but many branches and leaves, there is one religion but any number of faiths
'My country, right or wrong' is a thing no patriot would ever think of saying except in a desperate case. read more
'My country, right or wrong' is a thing no patriot would ever think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying 'My mother, drunk or sober.'
The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.
The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.
I offer neither pay, nor quarters, nor provisions; I offer hunger, thirst, forced marches, battles and death. Let him who read more
I offer neither pay, nor quarters, nor provisions; I offer hunger, thirst, forced marches, battles and death. Let him who loves his country in his heart and not with his lips only, follow me.
