“I do not know if the people of the United States would vote for superior men if they ran for office, but there can be no doubt that such men do not run.”

Source: Democracy in America

Last update Aug. 3, 2024. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "I do not know if the people of the United States would vote for superior men if they ran for office, but there can be n…" by Alexis De Tocqueville?
Alexis De Tocqueville photo
Alexis De Tocqueville 135
French political thinker and historian 1805–1859

Related quotes

Rand Paul photo
Nelson Mandela photo
Warren Farrell photo
Alexis De Tocqueville photo
R. A. Lafferty photo

“They are the possessed men who do much of the running of the world, and theirs is the most frightening story that can be imagined. But those who watch the great men do not know that they are shells inhabited by ghosts.”

R. A. Lafferty (1914–2002) American writer

Source: Archipelago (1979), Chapter Three, Pt. 5, A "ghost story" as narrated in its entirety by a character in the novel in a small ward gathering.
Context: "The perfect ghost story is the story of Possession," he said, "and that is hypnotism from beyond the grave. This is possible since hypnotism is by the will, and the will is immortal. A number of notable men have been possessed, and all of their lives seem to fit a pattern: the inconsequential early years, the hiatus when they stood where Faust stood, and the decision. And then the rise to power and influence and almost universal honor after they have made the deal. But it is not themselves, it is the devils within them that gain these things. They are the possessed men who do much of the running of the world, and theirs is the most frightening story that can be imagined. But those who watch the great men do not know that they are shells inhabited by ghosts."

Gary Locke photo
Jane Austen photo
Tony Benn photo
Gore Vidal photo
H.L. Mencken photo

“Q: If you find so much that is unworthy of reverence in the United States, then why do you live here?
A: Why do men go to zoos?”

H.L. Mencken (1880–1956) American journalist and writer

1940s–present, A Mencken Chrestomathy (1949)

Related topics