"The laws and constitution of our government ought to be regarded with reverence. Man must have an idol. And our political idol ought to be our constitution and laws. These, like the ark of the covenant among the Jews, ought to be sacred from all profane touch. If we would preserve our government uncorrupted, and promote our own peace and happiness, we must reverence the laws, and every lawful act and ordinance of our administration. If we will have a rational government on the basis of liberty and equality, the people must themselves be rational, enlightened, wise, and virtuous; they must be modest, and willing to learn from true sources; they must be respectful of understanding, wisdom, and experience; and they must cease to listen to ignorance, folly, and flattery."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Alexander Addison, Charges to Grand Juries of the Counties of the Fifth Circuit, in the State of Pennsylvania (1800), p. 242
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
United States Constitution
146 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by United States Constitution →
Related Quotes
"The words of the Constitution ... are so unrestricted by their intrinsic meaning or by their history or by tradition …"
"As the British Constitution is the most subtile organism which has proceeded from the womb and the long gestation of …"
"When this nation was in trouble, in its early struggles, it looked upon the Negro as a citizen. In 1776 he was a citi…"
"The Constitution was born in compromise and survived a civil war when compromise broke down only by radically changin…"
"During the war of the Revolution, and in 1788, the date of the adoption of our national Constitution, there was but o…"
"The will of the nation, speaking with the voice of battle and through the amended Constitution, has fulfilled the gre…"
"I always defended the Constitution, because it was for liberty. It was ordained by the people of the United States. N…"
"I love the Constitution. It is enshrined in my heart. I love it better than any dozen Democrats in the land do tonight."
"[T]he Constitution of the United States knows no distinction between citizens on account of color."
"[U]nder the Constitution in its most liberal interpretation, and admitting our cherished American doctrine of equal h…"