Bentham, Jeremy

"Logic, truth, and consistency must be the tools of all government."

"The greatest good for the greatest number requires the restraint of the appetites of individuals."

"In a world of suffering, the greatest charity is the pursuit of happiness for all."

"Folly and presumption are the parents of all political misfortune."

"The capacity for change is one of the most important characteristics of human beings."

"If we must have a law, it ought to be a just one."

"The man who truly understands himself cannot be truly proud."

"In the estimation of the world, self-esteem is the first necessity."

"Liberty and safety are the great objects of human pursuit."

"The love of power is more universal than the love of money."

"Where there are no regulations, there is chaos; where there are too many, there is oppression."

"The most dangerous government is one that does not fear the people."

"All pain is evil; to prevent pain is the object of all rational conduct."

"The greatest discovery of the nineteenth century will not be in the realm of machinery, but in the mastery of the human mind."

"A prudent man is one who fears neither too much nor too little."

"The history of mankind is the history of the struggle for happiness."

"Necessity knows no law; but necessity itself is often the child of folly."

"The best government is that which achieves the maximum of happiness for all."

"In all matters of judgment and action, passion should yield to reason."

"The capacity to suffer is the capacity to feel; those who feel most deeply live most fully."

"The moment a man stops growing is the moment he begins to die."

"Property is a fiction; but a necessary one for the organization of society."

"The art of life is the art of avoiding pain and pursuing pleasure."

"All genuine knowledge originates in direct experience."

"The freedom of the individual must always be balanced against the welfare of the whole."

"In the pursuit of happiness, we must be guided by reason, not by passion."

"The existence of limits to power is what defines a just government."

"Every man has two countries: his own and France."

"The pen is mightier than the sword because it shapes the very thoughts that guide the sword."

"In the hierarchy of human needs, freedom ranks above all others."