^z23rd January 2026 at 8:16am
From The Federalist Papers #51, by James Madison, in 1788:
… If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. …
... and in Toki Pona, perhaps something like:
jan li ijo sewi la, lawa li wile ala
ijo sewi li lawa e jan la, lawa lawa li wile ala
lawa tan jan tawa jan la, lawa lawa li pali ike
lawa wile lawa e jan
lawa wile lawa e lawa
| toki pona | loose translation |
|---|---|
| jan li ijo sewi la, lawa li wile ala | if people were sacred beings, government would not be needed |
| ijo sewi li lawa e jan la, lawa lawa li wile ala | if sacred beings governed people, rules for government would not be needed |
| lawa tan jan tawa jan la, lawa lawa li pali ike | if government is by people for people, rules for government are difficult to create |
| lawa wile lawa e jan | government must rule people |
| lawa wile lawa e lawa | government must rule itself |
(cf Gibbon - Thoughts Upon Reading (?), Ideas and Arguments (2000-07-22), Lyndon Johnson Political Philosophy (2006-10-06), Social Good and Partisan Politics (2021-03-02), ...) - ^z - 2026-01-23