Frank J. Wilstach, comp. A Dictionary of Similes. 1916.
State
States, as great engines, move slowly.
—Francis Bacon
A great modern state is like a gigantic vessel built without any watertight compartments, which, if it be unskilfully steered, may perish when it strikes a single rock.
—Viscount Bryce
It is with states as with clocks, which must have some dead weight hanging at them to help and regulate the motion of the finer and more useful parts.
—Jonathan Swift