Quotessence
Home / Books / The Works of John Adams Vol. 6: Defence of the Constitution IV, Discourses on Davila

The Works of John Adams Vol. 6: Defence of the Constitution IV, Discourses on Davila

Book by John Adams · 5 quotes · People, Liberty, Majority

Filter quotes by topic

AllPeopleLibertyMajorityPrejudiceWayWorldAll TimeAmerican Independence DayAttackingCasesConstitutionConstitutional ConventionCountenanceCourtDegreesDeliberateDeliberationDemocracyDesireDividing

The Works of John Adams Vol. 6: Defence of the Constitution IV, Discourses on Davila Quotes

“The deliberate union of so great and various a people in such a place, is without all partiality or prejudice, if not the greatest exertion of human understanding, the greatest single effort of national deliberation that the world has ever seen.”

PeopleIfsWorldHumansUnderstandingEffortPrejudiceUnionsVariousDeliberateExertionDeliberationPartialityConstitutional Convention
Book:The Works of John Adams Vol. 6: Defence of the Constitution IV, Discourses on Davila
Create image

“The right of a nation to kill a tyrant, in cases of necessity, can no more be doubted, than to hang a robber, or kill a flea. But killing one tyrant only makes way for worse, unless the people have sense, spirit and honesty enough to establish and support a constitution guarded at all points against the tyranny of the one, the few, and the many.”

PeopleWayEnoughSpiritNationsCasesSupportHonestyConstitutionKillingTyrannyTyrantsDoubtedGuardedRobbersFleas
Book:The Works of John Adams Vol. 6: Defence of the Constitution IV, Discourses on Davila
Create image

“Property is surely a right of mankind as real as liberty. Perhaps, at first, prejudice, habit, shame or fear, principle or religion, would restrain the poor from attacking the rich, and the idle from usurping on the industrious; but the time would not be long before courage and enterprise would come, and pretexts be invented by degrees, to countenance the majority in dividing all the property among them, or at least, in sharing it equally with its present possessors.”

FirstsLongRealPoliticsPoorLibertyPrinciplesEconomyRichMankindHabitDegreesPrejudiceShameMajorityPropertyLiberalismEnterpriseIdleAttackingCountenanceDividingPretextIndustrious
Book:The Works of John Adams Vol. 6: Defence of the Constitution IV, Discourses on Davila
Create image

“The way to secure liberty is to place it in the people's hands, that is, to give them the power at all times to defend it in the legislature and in the courts of justice.”

PeopleWayGivingHandsGovernmentJusticeLibertySocietyCourtAll TimeSecurePatrioticLegislatureAmerican Independence Day
Book:The Works of John Adams Vol. 6: Defence of the Constitution IV, Discourses on Davila
Create image