Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations. 1989.
NUMBER: | 754 |
AUTHOR: | George Washington (173299) |
QUOTATION: | Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action. |
ATTRIBUTION: | Attributed to In his most recent book of quotations, The Great Thoughts (1985), Seldes says, p. 441, col. 2, footnote, this paragraph although credited to the Farewell [address] cannot be found in it. Lawson Hamblin, who owns a facsimile, and Horace Peck, Americas foremost authority on quotations, informed me this paragraph is apocryphal. |
SUBJECTS: | Government |