Famous quotes containing the words secular and/or aristocracy:
“The courts used to be, fair and square, the avengers of secular crimes; but nowadays they demand respect even for the criminal.”
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)
“Nothing is quite so wretchedly corrupt as an aristocracy which has lost its power but kept its wealth and which still has endless leisure to devote to nothing but banal enjoyments. All its great thoughts and passionate energy are things of the past, and nothing but a host of petty, gnawing vices now cling to it like worms to a corpse.”
—Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859)