Andre Breton Quotes

... a step in the direction of tyranny.

Liberty may be endangered by the abuse of liberty, but also by the abuse of power.

Excess of liberty, whether it lies in state or individuals, seems only to pass into excess of slavery.

Absolute power should never be trusted to man. It has perverted the wisest heads, and corrupted the best hearts in the world. I should be afraid to commit my property, liberty and life to a body of angels for one whole year.

Liberty... is there only when there is no abuse of power.

Only oppression should fear the full exercise of freedom.

Power, carried to extremes, is always liable to reaction.

Too much liberty corrupts us all.

Liberty is a word which, according as it is used, comprehends the most good and the most evil of any in the world.

America is just the country that shows how all the written guarantees in the world for freedom are no protection against tyranny and oppression of the worst kind. There the politician has come to be looked upon as the very scum of society.

When the tyranny of the state is combined with the hypocrisy of the church, you have a modern example of the twin vultures that have devoured man, and his rights, throughout the ages.

Independently of its misdeeds, the mere power, — the bare existence of such a power, — is a thing irreconcilable with the nature and spirit of our institutions

Security is like liberty in that many are the crimes committed in its name.

Power long entrusted either to single persons, or to bodies of men, generally increases itself so greatly as to become subversive of the intentions, and dangerous to the rights of those who delegated it.

Our liberty cannot depend on the good intention of those in power.

President Maliki: The appetite has grown with the eating. He has become a real dictator.

Power is always dangerous. It attracts the worst and corrupts the best..

Overly concentrated power, whether in public, private or even in civic hands is an invitation to abuse.

A dictator keeps control and leads. A tyrant is someone selfish who destroys.

Tyranny may creep in under the outward forms of traditional law.

Freedom can be destroyed, not just by its retraction, but also by its abuse.

Fear is a dangerous thing. Once it is sanctioned by the state there is no telling where it might lead. It is always a short path to walk from being suspicious of our fellow citizens to taking actions to restrict their liberty.

The harshest tyranny is that which acts under the protection of legality and the banner of justice.

The tyrant claims freedom to kill freedom, and yet keep it for himself.

Politicians as a class are dangerous, that people who are seeking power over us are not, by definition, our friends.