Louis Antoine de Saint-Just Quotes

The first priority is to make the change from a revolutionary mentality to a civil society in which there is respect for law.

When a people, having become free, establish wise laws, their revolution is complete.

The freedom enjoyed in Western society under the rule of law and constitutional government explains both the quality of its civilization and its wealth.

This election marks a significant moment in Haiti; it not only serves as the basis of hope along the road to democracy, but also serves as a testament to the resolve and character of the Haitian people during their long struggle for peace, reconciliation, and prosperity.

The submission of free people to the executive authority of government, is no more than a compliance with laws which they themselves have enacted.

Good government is an empire of laws.

Freedom of men under government is to have a standing rule to live by, common to every one of that society, and made by the legislative power vested in it; a liberty to follow my own will in all things, when the rule prescribes not, and not to be subject to the inconstant, unknown, arbitrary will of another man.

Appreciate the signal and manifold mercies…the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we enjoy, and the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness…for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; that we must unite in humbly offering our supplications to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us to perform our duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all people by constantly being a government of wise, just and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed.

Ultimately, the best guarantor of the rule of law is not the state and the branches which comprise it but the recognition by people of its value and their willingness to fight for, and uphold it.

A good law is one that holds, whether you recognize it or not; a bad law is one that cannot, however much you ordain it.

The biggest drag on global growth in the coming decade will be lack of adherence to the rule of law

I want a great country. I want people happy.

Little else is requisite to carry a state to the highest degree of opulence from the lowest barbarism but peace, easy taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice: all the rest being brought about by the natural course of things.

Our government is based on the belief that a people can be both strong and free, that civilized men need no restraint but that imposed by themselves against abuse of freedom.

There can be no prosperity without law and order.

Law and its instrument, government, are necessary to the peace and safety of all of us, but all of us, unless we live the lives of mud turtles, frequently find them arrayed against us.

As freedom is the only safeguard of governments, so are order and moderation generally necessary to preserve freedom.

The aim of any good constitution is to achieve in a society a high degree of political harmony, so that order and justice and freedom may be maintained.

Obviously I prefer freedom, but I know, and I think all history has told us, that freedom cannot flow from anarchy and disorder.

The question now is how best to help the Iraqi people build a democratic and free Iraqi society that ensures respect for the rights of all Iraqis.

Government is nothing more than the combined force of society, or the united power of the multitude, for the peace, order, safety, good and happiness of the people.

As the acceptance of democracy brings a certain life-giving power, so it has its own sanctions and comforts. Perhaps the most obvious one is the curious sense which comes to us from time to time, that we belong to the whole, that a certain basic well being can never be taken away from us whatever the turn of fortune.

Democracy is morose, and runs to anarchy.

Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free. True peace with oneself and with the world around us can only be achieved through the development of mental peace.