“The civilized world seems at last to be proceeding to the conviction of that fundamental and manifest truth, that the powers of government are but a trust, and that they cannot be lawfully exercised but for the good of the community. As knowledge is more and more extended, this conviction becomes more and more general. Knowledge, in truth, is the great sun in the firmament. Life and power are scattered with all its beams.”

— Daniel Webster

Source: Address on Laying the Cornerstone of the Bunker Hill Monument (1825), p. 74

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Daniel Webster 62

Leading American senator and statesman. January 18, 1782 – … 1782–1852

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