The practice of arbitrary imprisonments have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.

People sometimes attribute my success to my genius; all the genius I know anything about is hard work.

Give all the power to the many, they will oppress the few. Give all the power to the few, they will oppress the many.

When a government betrays the people by amassing too much power and becoming tyrannical, the people have no choice but to exercise their original right of self-defense — to fight the government.

One great error is that we suppose mankind more honest than they are.

I think the first duty of society is justice.

There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty, that makes human nature rise above itself, in acts of bravery and heroism.

Men often oppose a thing merely because they have had no agency in planning it, or because it may have been planned by those whom they dislike.

A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one.

Foreign influence is truly the Grecian horse to a republic. We cannot be too careful to exclude its influence.

It's not tyranny we desire; it's a just, limited, federal government.

The best creates, the rest follows

My first book, 'The Age of Wire and String,' came out in 1995, and it was hardly reviewed at all.

I've always thought that problem-solving is highly overrated and that problem creation is far more interesting.

Everything if given to God can become your gateway to joy.

Composing is just another exciting thing. It's as exciting as being in a band. It's kind of like joining a new band for three months.

I think that American people really know how to pursue fun, they really know how to have a good time. Japanese are somewhat more reserved than Americans, so I'm jealous.

Veal is a very young beef and, like a very young girlfriend, it's cute but boring and expensive.

You might say it was my return to the living that launched me as a singer. I was placed in an oxygen tent, and the doctors brought me back to life.

Do we not realize that the basic condition for a spiritual walk is to fear our self and its wisdom and to rely absolutely upon the Spirit?

As soon as liberty is complete it dies in anarchy.