"Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one."

"The independence of America, considered merely as a commercial object, is an object of no inconsiderable magnitude."

"The greatest services that can be rendered unto mankind are those which promote the general good."

"Kings succeed each other, not as rationals, but as animals. It signifies not what their mental or moral characters are."

"Reason, and not habit, is the governor of a people."