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By obliging men to turn their attention to other affairs than their own, it rubs off that private selfishness which is the rust of society.

Alexis de Tocqueville

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Alexis de Tocqueville
Age: 53 †
Born: 1805
Born: July 29
Died: 1859
Died: April 16
Historian
Jurist
Philosopher
Politician
Sociologist
Writer
Paris
France
Alexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville
Tocqueville
Alexis-Charles-Henri Clerel de Tocqueville
Turns
Rust
Society
Selfishness
Men
Affairs
Affair
Private
Turn
Law
Obliging
Attention
Rubs

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We succeed in enterprises which demand the positive qualities we possess, but we excel in those which can also make use of our defects.
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No stigma attaches to the love of money in America, and provided it does not exceed the bounds imposed by public order, it is held in honor. The American will describe as noble and estimable ambition that our medieval ancestors would have called base cupidity.
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