Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoi Quote

"The misapprehension springs from the fact that the learned jurists, deceiving themselves as well as others, depict in their books an ideal of government -- not as it really is, an assembly of men who oppress their fellow-citizens, but in accordance with the scientific postulate, as a body of men who act as the representatives of the rest of the nation. They have gone on repeating this to others so long that they have ended by believing it themselves, and they really seem to think that justice is one of the duties of governments. History, however, shows us that governments, as seen from the reign of Caesar to those of the two Napoleons and Prince Bismarck, are in their very essence a violation of justice; a man or a body of men having at command an army of trained soldiers, deluded creatures who are ready for any violence, and through whose agency they govern the State, will have no keen sense of the obligation of justice. Therefore governments will never consent to diminish the number of those well-trained and submissive servants, who constitute their power and influence."

by:	Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoi (1828-1910) Russian writer
Source:	Writings on Civil Disobedience and Non-Violence (Signet Books, 1968), pp. 238-239.
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Categories:	Government, Justice, Power, Statism
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-- Croitoru Laurentiu-Aurel, Ramnicu Sarat
-- Robert, Sarasota
Agreed.  -- P.M.
-- Ken
That's why there's a second amendment. Sometimes you have to shoot the tyrants when they get too out of control. Never let 'em get your guns.  -- Anonymous      1
The government IS taking our guns ... one make/model at a time. Machine guns shoot too many bullets too fast, .50 calibers are too big (California), assault weapons look too dangerous, handguns are too concealable, etc. But what good is any weapon against the special forces of our government (i.e. FBI, SWAT, army)? You'd be lucky to wound one of them defending your property before they kill you. Our government has armed them with the best weapons, vests, helmets, concussion grenades, etc. using OUR money!  -- Joe, Rochester, MI      1
It's a pity we don't study more of what he had to say. These words speak to the problem at hand.  -- J. B. Wulff, Bristol      1
Tolstoy could always write a bible about a simple subject, but he is correct on this!  -- cal, lewisville, tx      1
Isn't that why our founding fathers sought to make a more perfect union? Yet even that more perfect union has crept into disrepair, woefully neglected, eroded here a little, there a little, resulting now in a president usurper who has failed to even prove he is a natural born citizen and those who dare to state the emperor has no clothes are scorned! Apparently we get what we deserve and if folks ask for deception and delusions, that's what they'll receive.  -- David Ben-Ariel, Toledo, Ohio      1
Joe, Think in terms of community rather than going it alone. Organize. I personally don't think that American soldiers or policemen will fire on American citizens. Especially if they are firing back. But then again....  -- J Carlton, Calgary      1
Isn't that why our founding fathers sought to make a more perfect union? Yet even that more perfect union has crept into disrepair, woefully neglected, eroded here a little, there a little, or deliberately chipped away under both political parties (see Selective Constitutionalism), resulting now in a president usurper who has failed to even prove he is a natural born citizen and those who dare to state Emperor Obama has no clothes are scorned! Apparently we get what we deserve and if folks ask for deception and delusions, that's what they'll receive. The Obamatons believe their own blackspeak, others blindly trust the system and assume Obama was certified (even though it's documented Obama wasn't certified), and too many conservative cowards fear to question Obama's eligibility, cowering before the politically correct plantation owners ready to crack the whip with charges of "racist" or "racism" to keep folks in line. We've seen the race card, show us the birth certificate! http://tinyurl.com/yhxg9dw  -- David Ben-Ariel, Toledo, Ohio      1
Written a century ago!! The more things change, the more they stay the same!!! Rick http://rixwest.com  -- Rick Zahniser (Senor Reek), Tombstone      1
Sad to see all of you guys in bed with a communist!  -- Waffler, Smith      1
Waffler, will you never learn. It's the message ... can't you concentrate on anything? Poor man, you're so deluded, everything is as clear as mud to you.  -- zeitgeist, la crescenta, ca
Wow! Great quote.  -- E Archer, NYC      1

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