Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations. 1989.
| NUMBER: | 829 |
| AUTHOR: | Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–59) |
| QUOTATION: | I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers—and it was not there … in her fertile fields and boundless forests—and it was not there … in her rich mines and her vast world commerce—and it was not there … in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution—and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great. |
| ATTRIBUTION: | Attributed to The last two sentences are attributed to de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America by Sherwood Eddy, The Kingdom of God and the American Dream, chapter 1, p. 6 (1941). This appears with minor variations in A Third Treasury of the Familiar, ed. Ralph L. Woods, p. 347 (1970), as “attributed to de Tocqueville but not found in his works.” |
| SUBJECTS: | Greatness |