Soliloquy at the tomb of Napoleon (1882); noted to have been misreported as "I would rather be the humblest peasant that ever lived … at peace with the world than be the greatest Christian that ever lived" by Billy Sunday (May 26, 1912), as reported in Paul F. Boller, Jr., and John George, They Never Said It: A Book of Fake Quotes, Misquotes, & Misleading Attributions (1989), p. 52-53.
“I would have been glad to have lived under my wood side, to have kept a flock of sheep, rather than undertook such a Government as this is.”
Statement to Parliament (4 February 1658) quoted in The Diary of Thomas Burton, esq., volume 2: April 1657 - February 1658 (1828), p. 466
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Oliver Cromwell 49
English military and political leader 1599–1658Related quotes
The Heaven of Animals (l. 1–6).
The Whole Motion; Collected Poems, 1945-1992 (1992)
(1st October 1825) Stanzas
The London Literary Gazette, 1825
Speech on Civil Liberties http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1939/12/09/speech-of-president-quezon-on-civil-liberties-december-9-1939/, delivered on the occasion of the interuniversity oratorical contest held under the auspices of the Civil Liberties Union at the Ateneo auditorium, Manila, on December 9, 1939
Variant: I would rather have a government run like hell by Filipinos than a government run like heaven by Americans
Context: It is true, and I am proud of it, that I once said, “I would rather have a government run like hell by Filipinos than a government run like heaven by Americans.” I want to tell you that I have, in my life, made no other remark which went around the world but that. There had been no paper in the United States, including a village paper, which did not print that statement, and I also had seen it printed in many newspapers in Europe. I would rather have a government run like hell by Filipinos than a government run like heaven by any foreigner. I said that once; I say it again, and I will always say it as long as I live.
“I would rather have a clean government than one where 'First Amendment rights' are being respected”
On the Don Imus show (28 April 2006)
2000s, 2006
Context: I work in Washington and I know that money corrupts. And I and a lot of other people were trying to stop that corruption. Obviously, from what we've been seeing lately, we didn't complete the job. But I would rather have a clean government than one where 'First Amendment rights' are being respected that has become corrupt. If I had my choice, I'd rather have the clean government.
“I would much rather have a living husband with no job and no gold than a dead one.”
ibid
The Rahotep series, Book 3: Egypt: The Book of Chaos (2011)