Walter Bagehot book The English Constitution
No. V, The House of Commons, p. 159
Cf the Gettysburg Address.
The English Constitution (1867)
“You ask which form of government is the best? Whichever teaches us to govern ourselves.”
Welche Regierung die beste sei? Diejenige, die uns lehrt, uns selbst zu regieren.
Maxim 353, trans. Stopp
Variant translation by Saunders: Which is the best government? That which teaches us to govern ourselves. (225)
Maxims and Reflections (1833)
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Do you have more details about the quote "You ask which form of government is the best? Whichever teaches us to govern ourselves." by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe?
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe185
German writer, artist, and politician 1749–1832Related quotes
“The best government is that which governs least.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) 3rd President of the United States of America
Motto of United States Magazine and Democratic Review. First used in introductory essay by editor John L. O'Sullivan in the premier issue (October, 1837, p. 6 http://books.google.com/books?id=HGtJAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA6&dq=%22governs+least%22). Attributed to Jefferson by Henry David Thoreau, this statement is cited in his essay on civil disobedience, but the quote has not been found in Jefferson's own writings. It is also commonly attributed to Thomas Paine, perhaps because of its similarity in theme to many of his well-documented expressions such as "Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one." <br class="br">Misattributed <br class="br">Variant: "That government is best which governs least"; reported in Paul F. Boller, Jr., and John George, They Never Said It: A Book of Fake Quotes, Misquotes, & Misleading Attributions (1989), p. 56
“We ought to consider what is the end of government, before we determine which is the best form.”
John Adams (1735–1826) 2nd President of the United States
1770s, Thoughts on Government (1776)
Context: We ought to consider what is the end of government, before we determine which is the best form. Upon this point all speculative politicians will agree, that the happiness of society is the end of government, as all Divines and moral Philosophers will agree that the happiness of the individual is the end of man. From this principle it will follow, that the form of government which communicates ease, comfort, security, or, in one word, happiness, to the greatest number of persons, and in the greatest degree, is the best.
George Alec Effinger (1947–2002) Novelist, short story writer
Source: Relatives (1973)., Chapter 11 (p. 174).
Zaman Ali (1993) Pakistani philosopher
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/9672840-democracy-is-good-for-you-when-you-are-not-in
Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) pre-eminent leader of Indian nationalism during British-ruled India
From Discussion with BG Kher and others, 15 August 1940. Gandhi's Wisdom Box (1942), edited by Dewan Ram Parkash, p. 67 also in Collected works of Mahatma Gandhi Vol. 79 (PDF) http://www.gandhiserve.org/cwmg/VOL079.PDF, p. 122 <br class="br">1940s
Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood (1864–1958) lawyer, politician and diplomat in the United Kingdom
Quoting Abraham Lincoln
The Future of Civilization (1938)
Context: In some states of society it may even be that a form of dictatorship is necessary. No doubt in the hands of an able man it may possibly be more efficient than a democratic form of administration. But in the end, I am confident that a free government is best for free people. The old phrase, "Government of the people, by the people, for the people"*, represents a true ideal. It is best for the people as a whole. It is even more clearly the best for the development of the individual man and woman. And since in the end, the character and the prosperity of the nation depend on the character of the individuals that compose it, the form of government which best promotes individual development is the best for the people as a whole.
“That government is best which makes itself unnecessary.”
Wilhelm Von Humboldt (1767–1835) German (Prussian) philosopher, government functionary, diplomat, and founder of the University of Berlin
Diejenige Regierung ist die beste, die sich überflüssing macht.
As quoted in Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern English and Foreign Sources (1899) by James Wood