I go on the principle that a public debt is a public curse and in a republican government more than in any other.
James MadisonRead
That useful alterations will be suggested by experience, could not but be foreseen . . . . It moreover equally enables the general and state governments to originate the amendment of errors as they may be pointed out by the experience on one side or on the other.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Experience helps us identify and amend errors in our systems.
This quote by James Madison emphasizes the importance of learning from experience, suggesting that both general and state governments have the capacity to recognize and correct their mistakes through this process. It highlights the necessity of adaptability in governance, as new suggestions for improvement and amendments to existing errors will emerge from practical experiences over time.
Themes
ChangeExperienceGovernanceImprovementAdaptability
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech on the importance of adaptability in government policies.
More from James Madison
All quotes →No man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause; because his interest would certainly bias his judgment, and, not improbably, corrupt his integrity. With equal, nay with greater reason, a body of men are unfit to be both judges and parties at the same time.
James MadisonRead
I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations; but, on a candid examination of history, we shall find that turbulence, violence, and abuse of power, by the majority trampling on the rights of the minority, have produced factions and commotions, which, in republics, have, more frequently than any other cause, produced despotism.
James MadisonRead
The advice nearest to my heart and deepest in my convictions is that the Union of the States be cherished and perpetuated.
James MadisonRead
Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.
James MadisonRead
The magnitude of this evil among us is so deeply felt, and so universally acknowledged, that no merit could be greater than that of devising a satisfactory remedy for it.
James MadisonRead
Similar quotes
I hope something happens. I'm restless as the devil and have a horror of getting fat or falling in love and growing domestic.
F. Scott FitzgeraldRead
It's not about the fish; it's not about the pollution; it's not about the climate change. It's about us and our greed and our need for growth and our inability to imagine a world that is different from the selfish world we live in today.
Jeremy JacksonRead
Let all of us turn from bullets to ballots, from guns to shovels.
Shimon PeresRead
To change bad habits, we must study the habits of successful role models.
Jack CanfieldRead
We are continuously living a new life, and when the old and the new do not fit nicely together, the old - no longer able to contain the new - should be discarded.
Ernest HolmesRead
When people made up their minds that they wanted to be free and took action, then there was a change.
Rosa ParksRead