"It is necessary for him who lays out a state and arranges laws for it to presuppose that all men are evil and that they are always going to act according to the wickedness of their spirits whenever they have free scope"
- Niccolo Machiavelli
About this Quote
Machiavelli is suggesting that when somebody is creating a federal government and laws, they need to presume that everyone is naturally bad and will act in a self-centered or vicious way if given the opportunity. Therefore, the federal government and laws need to be created to restrict the potential for harm triggered by this human nature.
"The 4th Amendment and the personal rights it secures have a long history. At the very core stands the right of a man to retreat into his own home and there be free from unreasonable governmental intrusion"
"Households, cities, countries, and nations have enjoyed great happiness when a single individual has taken heed of the Good and Beautiful. Such people not only liberate themselves; they fill those they meet with a free mind"
