Quotes Library

April 26, 2025

It’s better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it.

Joseph Joubert (1754-1824), French essayist, moralist, attributed, Jay p.200

Which do you prefer?

He’s right. Dictators can do the latter anytime. Democracy is so slow a form of government because seemingly unending debate is often the norm…and sometimes saves the day.


More Quotes

October 27, 2025
Few things are as immutable as the addiction of political groups to the ideas by which they have once won office.
September 26, 2025
It is better to abolish serfdom from above than to wait for it to abolish itself from below.
September 28, 2025
The price one pays for pursuing any profession or calling is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side.
Page 57 of 123