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. This habit of feeling safe has become second nature, and we do not reflect on just how this is due solely to the working of special institutions. Commonplace thinking often has the impression that force holds the state together, but in fact its only bond is the fundamental sense of order which everybody possesses. Truth in philosophy means that concept and external reality correspond.