Henry David Thoreau - lecture in 1854 on "Slavery in Massachusetts"

 from "American Anti-Slavery Writings" volume in Library of America series (#233) - 2012 second printing -- this paragraph on page 704 of this volume ISBN 978-1-59853-196-1

Will mankind never learn that policy is not morality --

that it never secures any moral right, but considers

merely what is expedient? chooses the available 

candidate, who is invariably the devil, and what right

have his constituents to be surprised, because

the devil does not behave like an angel of light?

What is wanted is men, not of policy, but of probity

who recognize a higher law than the Constitution,

or the decision of the majority.

The fate of the country does not depend on how you

vote at the polls -- the worst man is as strong as the

best at that game;

it does not depend on what kind of paper you drop

into the ballot-box once a year, but on what kind

of man you drop from your chamber into the

street every morning.