Any institution which does not suppose the people good, and the magistrate corruptible, is evil.

Terror is only justice: prompt, severe and inflexible; it is then an emanation of virtue; it is less a distinct principle than a natural consequence of the general principle of democracy, applied to the most pressing wants of the country.

Any law which violates the inalienable rights of man is essentially unjust and tyrannical; it is not a law at all.

The general will rules in society as the private will governs each separate individual.

The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant.