Joseph de Maistre Quotes
Joseph-Marie, Count de Maistre, was a Savoyard lawyer, diplomat, and political philosopher and one of the most powerful counter-Enlightenment voices of the early nineteenth century. Driven from his homeland by the French revolutionary armies, he served as Sardinian ambassador to St Petersburg from 1803 to 1817, where he wrote most of his major works. The quotes below are attributed to Joseph de Maistre, organized by topic.
Joseph de Maistre on Freedom
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Attributed to Joseph de Maistre:
“Man is too wicked to be free.”
Joseph de Maistre on Politics
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Attributed to Joseph de Maistre:
“Every nation has the government it deserves.”
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Attributed to Joseph de Maistre:
“Where there is no judge, there is no political society.”
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Attributed to Joseph de Maistre:
“The hangman is the foundation of social order.”
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Attributed to Joseph de Maistre:
“Reason cannot govern the world; only authority can.”
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Attributed to Joseph de Maistre:
“All grandeur, all power, all subordination, rest on the executioner.”