Quotes by George Mason
Considering the natural lust for power so inherent in man, I fear the thirst of power will prevail to oppress the people.
Those gentlemen, who will be elected senators, will fix themselves in the federal town, and become citizens of that town more than of your state.
Nothing so strongly impels a man to regard the interest of his constituents, as the certainty of returning to the general mass of the people, from whence he was taken, where he must participate in their burdens.
Don't wait around for your life to happen to you. Find something that makes you happy, and do it. Because everything else is all just background noise.
The Laws of Nature are the Laws of God, Whose authority can be superseded by no power on earth. A legislature must not obstruct our obedience to Him from whose punishment they cannot protect us. All human constitutions which contradict His laws, we are in conscience bound to disobey.
Happiness and Prosperity are now within our Reach; but to attain and preserve them must depend upon our own Wisdom and Virtue.
All power is vested in, and consequently derived from, the people; [...] magistrates are their trustees and servants, and at all times amenable to them.
The laws of nature are the laws of God, whose authority can be superseded by no power on earth.
The freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic governments.
That all power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, by any authority, without consent of the representatives of the people, is injurious to their rights, and ought not to be exercised.
That no free government, nor the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people, but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue; by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles; and by the recognition by all citizens that they have duties as well as rights, and that such rights cannot be enjoyed save in a society where law is respected and due process is observed.
All men are created equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; among which are the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing the obtaining of happiness and safety.
To disarm the people... was the best and most effectual way to enslave them.
We are now to rank among the nations of the world; but whether our Independence shall prove a blessing or a curse must depend upon our own wisdom or folly, virtue or wickedness.... Justice and virtue are the vital principles of republican government.
No point is of more importance than that the right of impeachment should be continued. Shall any man be above Justice?
The augmentation of slaves weakens the states; and such a trade is diabolical in itself, and disgraceful to mankind.
All power is lodged in, and consequently derived from, the people. We should wear it as a breastplate, and buckle it on as our armour.
All men are by nature born equally free and independent.
I charge [my sons] never to let the motives of private interest or ambition to influence them to betray, nor the terrors of poverty and disgrace, or the fear of danger or of death deter them from asserting the liberty of their country, and endeavoring to transmit to their posterity those sacred rights to which themselves were born
I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people except for a few public officials.
A well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that in all cases the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power.
The question then will be, whether a consolidated government can preserve the freedom and secure the rights of the people.