The worth of a State, in the long run, is the worth of the individuals composing it — a State which dwarfs its men, in order that they may be more docile instruments in its hands even for beneficial purposes — will find that with small men no great thing can really be accomplished. – John Stuart Mill

The State must follow, and not lead, the character and progress of the citizen. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

As high as mind stands above nature, so high does the state stand above physical life. Man must therefore venerate the state as a secular deity. The march of God in the world, that is what the State is. – G. W. F. Hegel

If nationality is consent, the state is compulsion. – Henri Frederic Amiel