Alexis de Tocqueville

Máire Fedelma Cross (University of Newcastle upon Tyne)

Ed. by David Williams, University of Sheffield
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.05: French Writing and Culture: The Nineteenth-Century , 1800-1900.
Vol. editors: David Elwyn Evans (University of St Andrews), Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Elisabeth Gerwin (University of Lethbridge), Nigel Harkness (University of Newcastle upon Tyne), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield), Jennifer Yee (University of Oxford)

Dates

Born 29 Jul 1805
Died 16 Apr 1859
Activity 1827-1859

Places

Born in France
Active in France; United States

Activities

Primary

Political Philosopher
Political writer

Other

Historian / Chronicler
Member of Parliament
Politician
Reformer
Travel writer

Resources

Tocqueville's Works

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Freedom is, in truth, a

sacred

[sic] thing. There is only one thing else that better deserves the name: that is virtue. But then what is virtue if not the

free

choice of what is good? (Alexis de Tocqueville,

Journeys to England and Ireland

, translated by George Lawrence and K.P. Mayer, edited by Jacob Peter Mayer, London, Faber and Faber, 1957, p. 117.) Democracy is like a rising tide; it only recoils to come back with greater force, and soon one sees that for all its fluctuations it is always gaining ground. The immediate future of European society is completely democratic: this can in no way be doubted. (Alexis de Tocqueville,

Journeys to England and Ireland

, translated by George Lawrence and K.P. Mayer, edited by Jacob Peter Mayer, London, Faber and Faber, 1957, p. 67)

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2451 words

Citation: Cross, Máire Fedelma. "Alexis de Tocqueville". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 May 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4425, accessed 21 November 2024.]