"If a republic is small, it is destroyed by a foreign force; if it is large, it is ruined by an internal imperfection."

"In a true state of nature, indeed, all men are born equal, but they cannot continue in this equality. Society makes them lose it, and they recover it only by the force of laws."

"The less we are able to reflect, the more we are capable of passion."

"In every government there are three sorts of power: the legislative; the executive in respect to things dependent on the law of nations; and the executive in regard to matters that depend on the civil…"

"Slavery, properly so called, is the establishment of a right which gives to a master such a power over his slave as renders him absolute master of his life and fortune."