49 Hamilton Quotes on Legacy, Ambition, and Life
Alexander Hamilton had a lot to say.
About legacy.
About ambition.
About not wasting time.
It is kind of hard to believe how much one person could pack into a single life. Maybe that is why his words still feel personal.
These Hamilton quotes are a good reminder that the things worth doing are always worth doing fully.
Short Hamilton Quotes
“Those who stand for nothing fall for anything.”
“The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of divinity itself.”
“A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one.”
“Real liberty is neither found in despotism or the extremes of democracy, but in moderate governments.”
“When the sword is once drawn, the passions of men observe no bounds of moderation.”
“A good Government implies two things: first, fidelity to the object of Government, which is the happiness of the People; secondly, a knowledge of the means by which that object can be best attained.”
“Men are rather reasoning than reasonable animals, for the most part governed by the impulse of passion.”
“The vigor of government is essential to the security of liberty.”
“Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.”
“A dangerous ambition more often lurks behind the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the people, than under the forbidding appearance of zeal for the firmness and efficiency of Government.”
“There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty, that makes human nature rise above itself, in acts of bravery and heroism.”
“In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”
“The true test of a good government is its aptitude and tendency to produce a good administration.”
“Energy in the executive is a leading character in the definition of good government.”
“A nation, without a national government, is, in my view, an awful spectacle.”
“Give all power to the many, they will oppress the few. Give all power to the few, they will oppress the many.”
“The people are turbulent and changing; they seldom judge or determine right.”
“If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”
“Learn to think continentally.”
“I never expect a perfect work from imperfect man.”
“A promise must never be broken.”
“In republics, the great danger is, that the majority may not sufficiently respect the rights of the minority.”
“No man in his senses can hesitate in choosing to be free, rather than a slave.”
“The inquiry constantly is what will please, not what will benefit the people.”
“There is no part of the administration of government that requires extensive information and a thorough knowledge of the principles of political economy so much as the business of taxation.”
“Necessity, especially in politics, often occasions false hopes, false reasonings, and a system of measures correspondingly erroneous.”
“Had every Athenian citizen been a Socrates, every Athenian assembly would still have been a mob.”
“I have thought it my duty to exhibit things as they are, not as they ought to be.”
“Why has the government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice without constraint.”
“The seeds of liberty are universally sown, and require only the genial influence of a free constitution to expand them.”
“Let us recollect that peace or war will not always be left to our option; that however moderate or unambitious we may be, we cannot count upon the moderation, or hope to extinguish the ambition of others.”
“I often spoke my sentiments freely and sometimes, perhaps, with too much warmth.”
“I would die to preserve the law upon a solid foundation; but take away liberty, and the foundation is destroyed.”
“Real firmness is good for everything; strut is good for nothing.”
“Divide et impera must be the motto of every nation that either hates or fears us.”
“It seems to have been reserved to the people of this country to decide, by their conduct and example, the important question, whether societies of men are really capable of establishing good government from reflection and choice.”
“To all general purposes we have uniformly been one people, each individual citizen everywhere enjoying the same national rights, privileges, and protection.”
“The art of reading is to skip judiciously.”
“Every man ought to be supposed knave and to have no other end, in all his actions, but private interest.”
“The rules of morality are not the conclusions of our reason.”
“Opinions, for the most part, do not die with the men who conceived them.”
“It is a just observation that the people commonly intend the PUBLIC GOOD.”
“The instability, injustice, and confusion introduced into the public councils have, in truth, been the mortal diseases under which popular governments have everywhere perished.”
“Among the many objects to which a wise and free people find it necessary to direct their attention, that of providing for their safety seems to be the first.”
“A good constitution is infinitely better than the best despot.”
“The nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one.”
“Ambition, avarice, personal animosity, party opposition, and many other motives not more laudable than these, are apt to operate as well upon those who support as those who oppose the right side of a question.”
“It is the press which has corrupted our political morals, and it is the press which must restore them.”
“I have examined carefully the evidence of the Christian religion; and if I was sitting as a juror upon its authenticity, I should unhesitatingly give my verdict in its favor.”
