We do not need to be shoemakers to know if our shoes fit, and just as little have we any need to be professionals to acquire knowledge of matters of universal interest. It is easier to discover a deficiency in individuals, in states, and in Providence, than to see their real import and value. The history of the world is none other than the progress of the consciousness of freedom. An idea is always a generalization, and generalization is a property of thinking. To generalize means to think.
Mere goodness can achieve little against the power of nature.
Once the state has been founded, there can no longer be any heroes. They come on the scene only in uncivilized conditions. World history is a court of judgment. When liberty is mentioned, we must always be careful to observe whether it is not really the assertion of private interests which is thereby designated. When we walk the streets at night in safety, it does not strike us that this might be otherwise.