Some things on the interweb
don’t sound right. Turns out this one is accurate.
At valorguardians: “The ideal
form of government is democracy tempered with assassination.” – Voltaire
Libertytree.ca has the quote
as accurately attributed to Voltaire. Comments at the site, though …
E. Archer, NYC: “Yikes, this
from the guy who wrote ‘Democracy in America’—I would like to see the quote in
context. It’s got to be ‘tongue-in-cheek;-)”
(Comment: Dude, or Dudette.
You were not paying attention during discussion of de Tocqueville.)
Hannered01, Kernersville: “Actually
‘benevolent dictatorship.’ Try not to treat the word ‘benevolent’ lightly
please.”
(I do not know enough French
to order a glass of bad wine, but I wonder about the closeness of “democracy”
and “benevolent dictatorship” and how a translator could confuse one with the
other. From limited readings about Voltaire, I believe he tended to drop statements
now and then just to open up conversation or to get people all riled up. After
all, he was French. President Calvin Coolidge, who was not from France, but Vermont, allegedly said a president should have the authority to hang ten people every year. When asked if he truly believed that, he replied, "No, but it would keep people on their toes," or some such.)
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