Possession, it is true, crowns exertion with rest; but it is only in the illusions of fancy that it has power to charm us.
Wilhelm Von HumboldtRead
The government is best which makes itself unnecessary.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The ideal government should empower its citizens to the point where it becomes unnecessary in their daily lives.
Wilhelm Von Humboldt suggests that the best form of government is one that fosters the independence and self-sufficiency of its people. When individuals can effectively manage their own affairs without heavy intervention from the state, the government's role becomes minimal, highlighting the importance of personal freedom and responsibility within a society.
Themes
GovernmentFreedomIndependenceSelf-SufficiencyPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about reducing government regulations, one might say, 'As Humboldt noted, the government is best which makes itself unnecessary.'
More from Wilhelm Von Humboldt
All quotes →Only what we have wrought into our character during life can we take with us.
Wilhelm Von HumboldtRead
Wherever the citizen becomes indifferent to his fellows, so will the husband be to his wife, and the father of a family toward the members of his household.
Wilhelm Von HumboldtRead
Joy mingled with sadness, even with grief, is the deepest human joy. It winds itself about the soul with indescribable sweetness, with a dim but unerring sense for what will some day be born of it.
Wilhelm Von HumboldtRead
All situations in which the interrelationships between extremes are involved are the most interesting and instructive.
Wilhelm Von HumboldtRead
It is an absolutely vain endeavor to attempt to reconstruct or even comprehend the nature of a human being by simply knowing the forces which have acted upon him. However deeply we should like to penetrate, however close we seem to be drawing to truth, one unknown quantity eludes us: man's primordial energy, his original self, that personality which was given him with the gift of life itself. On it rests man's true freedom; it alone determines his real character.
Wilhelm Von HumboldtRead
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