Nothing tends to materialize man and to deprive his work of the faintest trace of mind more than the extreme division of labor. - Alexis de Tocqueville

The pursuit of wealth generally diverts men of great talents and strong passions from the pursuit of power; and it frequently happens that a man does not undertake to direct the fortunes of the state until he has shown himself incompetent to conduct his own.

The lawyers of the United States form a party which is but little feared and scarcely perceived, which has no badge peculiar to itself, which adapts itself with great flexibility to the exigencies of the time, and accommodates itself to all the movements of the social body; but this party extends over the whole community, and it penetrates into all classes of society; it acts upon the country imperceptibly, but it finally fashions it to suit its purposes.

Original text: On voit que l'histoire est une galerie de tableaux où il y a peu d'originaux et beaucoup de copies.