“I have come across men of letters who have written history without taking part in public affairs, and politicians who have concerned themselves with producing events without thinking about them. I have observed that the first are always inclined to find general causes whereas the second, living in the midst of disconnected daily facts, are prone to imagine that everything is attributable to particular incidents, and that the wires they pull are the same as those that move the world. It is to be presumed that both are equally deceived.”

—  Alexis De Tocqueville

Recollections of Alexis de Tocqueville, p. 80 http://books.google.com/books?id=3gtoAAAAMAAJ&amp;pg=PA80&amp;dq=%22come+across+men+of+letters+who+have+written+history+without+taking+part+in+public+affairs%22 <br class="br">1850s and later

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "I have come across men of letters who have written history without taking part in public affairs, and politicians who h…" by Alexis De Tocqueville?
Alexis De Tocqueville photo
Alexis De Tocqueville135
French political thinker and historian 1805–1859

Related quotes

Ayn Rand photo

“On second handers: [They are] always concerned with people - not facts, ideas, work or production. What would happen to the world without those who think, work, and produce?”

Ayn Rand (1905–1982) Russian-American novelist and philosopher

Journals of Ayn Rand (1997)

Catherine the Great photo

“Assuredly men of merit are never lacking at any time, for those are the men who manage affairs, and it is affairs that produce the men. I have never searched, and I have always found under my hand the men who have served me, and for the most part I have been well served.”

Catherine the Great (1729–1796) Empress of Russia

As quoted in Woman Through the Ages;; (1908) by Emil Reich, p. 155

Michel De Montaigne photo

“The only good histories are those that have been written by the persons themselves who commanded in the affairs whereof they write.”

Michel De Montaigne book Essays

Book II, Ch. 10. Of Books
Essais (1595), Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)

Mwanandeke Kindembo photo

“There are two ways to live a celibate life. The first is to leave everything as it is and the second is to explore everything, without neglecting anything. Those who experiment a lot have little taste in things.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Albert Camus photo

“Then we understand that rebellion cannot exist without a strange form of love. Those who find no rest in God or in history are condemned to live for those who, like themselves, cannot live; in fact, for the humiliated.”

Albert Camus book The Rebel

The Rebel (1951)

Dave Lindorff photo

“And I am even sicker of politicians who wrap themselves in the bloody flag and try to rub off some of the stench of death from the bodies of those who have died, mostly in vain for worthless causes, in hopes that taking on some of the odor will cause them to be perceived as admirable patriots themselves.”

Dave Lindorff (1949) Award winning American journalist

The Glorification of War, 2010

Michel Houellebecq photo

“It may well be impossible for people who have lived and prospered under a given social system to imagine the point of view of those who feel it offers them nothing, and who can contemplate its destruction without any particular dismay.”

Michel Houellebecq (1956) writer

Source: Submission

Thomas Sowell photo

“It is amazing how many people think that they can answer an argument by attributing bad motives to those who disagree with them. Using this kind of reasoning, you can believe or not believe anything about anything, without having to bother to deal with facts or logic.”

Thomas Sowell (1930) American economist, social theorist, political philosopher and author

Random Thoughts https://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2004/12/06/random-thoughts-n996213, Townhall, December 2004. <br class="br">2000s

Harvey Milk photo

“I have never considered myself a candidate. I have always considered myself part of a movement, part of a candidacy. I considered the movement the candidate. I think that there's a distinction between those who use the movement and those who are part of the movement. I think I was always part of the movement. I wish I had time to explain everything I did. Almost everything was done with an eye on the gay movement.”

Harvey Milk (1930–1978) American politician who became a martyr in the gay community

From a tape recording (1977-11-18) to be played in the event of his assassination, quoted in Randy Shilts, The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk (1982), p. 276

Related topics