Truth is one forever absolute, but opinion is truth filtered through the moods, the blood, the disposition of the spectator.
Wendell PhillipsRead
Debt is the fatal disease of republics, the first thing and the mightiest to undermine governments and corrupt the people.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Debt can destabilize governments and corrupt societies.
Wendell Phillips highlights that accumulating debt poses a severe threat to democratic governments, as it can erode their foundational principles, lead to corruption, and ultimately weaken the bond between the government and its citizens. In this context, debt is seen as not just a financial issue, but a moral and political one that can undermine the very fabric of a republic.
Themes
DebtGovernmentCorruptionRepublicFinancialPolitical
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about financial responsibility, one could use this quote to emphasize the dangers of national debt.
More from Wendell Phillips
All quotes βSeldom ever was any knowledge given to keep, but to impart; the grace of this rich jewel is lost in concealment.
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If you want to be an orator, first get your great cause.
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Organize, and stand together. Claim something together, and at once; let the nation hear a united demand from the laboring voice, and then, when you have got that, go on after another; but get something.
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Write on my gravestone: 'Infidel, Traitor.', infidel to every church that compromises with wrong; traitor to every government that oppresses the people.
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On a single winged word hath hung the destiny of nations.
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