I'm quite dubious about the attribution to Franklin. Both the
sentiment and the language feel "off" to me. (The intrepid can try to
check here: http://franklinpapers.org/franklin/).
Unfortunately for all of us who enjoy a good epigram, the Internet
breeds false quotations like mildew in wet laundry, with the written
legacies of popular presidents and Founders among the primary
victims. I've learned the hard way that skepticism is nearly always
warranted, which means that if you don't have an authoritative source
for a quotation found online, don't trust it.
Corollary: if you do have an authoritative source for a quotation
found online, please cite it when you pass the quotation along!
Thanks,
--Jurretta Heckscher
On Sep 19, 2008, at 12:19 PM, Sam Treynor wrote:
> The attribution to Tytler is apparently incorrect: see
> www.snopes.com. A
> quote like Franklin's is probably the real source. I've read
> something
> similar in Acton, I think.
>
> Sam Treynor
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Melinda Skinner
> Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 6:22 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Help with a quote
>
> "When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will
> herald the
> end of the republic." -Benjamin Franklin
>
> --
> Melinda C. P. Skinner
> Richmond, VA
>
>
> -------------- Original message ----------------------
> From: Don Zochert <[log in to unmask]>
>>> Can someone help me with the origination of a quote that goes
>>> something
>>> like:
>>> Democracy ends when the people realize they can vote themselves all
>>> the money
>>
>>
>> Mr. Kern,
>>
>> Perhaps Alexander Fraser Tytler, _The Decline and Fall of the
>> Athenian
>> Republic_ (1776): "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of
>> government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can
>> vote themselves largesse from the public treasury..." Google him.
>>
>>
>> Donald Zochert
>>
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