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Federalist No. 51 (6 February 1788) s:The_Federalist_Papers/No._51 Full text at Wikisource
“

[T]he great security against a gradual concentration of the several powers in the same department, consists in giving to those who administer each department the necessary constitutional means, and personal motives, to resist encroachments of the others. The provision for defence must in this, as in all other cases, be made commensurate to the danger of attack.

— James Madison

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "[T]he great security against a gradual concentration of the several powers in the same department, consists in giving to those who administer each department the necessary constitutional means, and personal motives, to resist encroachments of the others. The provision for defence must in this, as in all other cases, be made commensurate to the danger of attack." in the context of "Federalist No. 51 (6 February 1788) s:The_Federalist_Papers/No._51 Full text at Wikisource" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "James Madison" (Quotes, 1780s, Federalist Papers (1787–1788)) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

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#James Madison#department#constitutional#concentration#encroachments#commensurate#administer#necessary#provision#security#consists#personal
James Madison

About James Madison

James Madison Jr. (16 March 1751 – 28 June 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed the "Father of the Constitution" for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.