An avaricious man might be tempted to betray the interests of the state for the acquisition of wealth. No. 75

About This Quote

The quote above is a reference to the story of Cicero, who claims that no man can be trusted if he has an interest in keeping his secrets. Cicero was right, but the story of Cicero is more widely known for being about his defense of Catiline. Cicero, however, saw it as a warning against the greed of avarice. The tale is about how greed can lead men to sell their country out for gold.

Source: The Federalist Papers

Some Similar Quotes

1. Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. - Douglas Adams

---

2. Politics determines who has the power, not who has the truth. - Paul Krugman

---

3. Immer wieder behauptete Unwahrheiten werden nicht zu Wahrheiten, sondern, was schlimmer ist, zu Gewohnheiten. - Oliver Hassencamp

---

4. What people want, mainly, is to be told by some plausible authority that what they are already doing is right. I don't know know of a quicker way to become unpopular than to disagree. - John Brunner

---

5. A people religiously right, will not long remain politically wrong. - William Arnot

---

More Quotes By Alexander Hamilton

1. The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the Hand of Divinity itself, and can never be erased or obscured by...

---

2. An avaricious man might be tempted to betray the interests of the state for the acquisition of wealth. No. 75

---

3. It has been frequently remarked, that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country to decide, by their conduct and example, the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not, of establishing good government from reflection and choice,...

---

4. When avarice takes the lead in a state, it is commonly the forerunner of its fall.

---

5. Constitutions should consist only of general provisions; the reason is that they must necessarily be permanent, and that they cannot calculate for the possible change of things

---