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Famous Quotes about Liberty
 
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He that is good, will infallibly become better, and he that is bad, will as certainly become worse; for vice, virtue and time are three things that never stand still.
-- Charles Caleb Colton		 
Liberty will not descend to a people, a people must raise themselves to liberty; it is a blessing that must be earned before it can be enjoyed.
-- Charles Caleb Colton		 
The victim to too severe a law is considered as a martyr rather than a criminal.
-- Charles Caleb Colton		 
[W]e are living in a sick Society filled with people who would not directly steal from their neighbors but who are willing to demand that the government do it for them.
-- William Comer		 
America was born of revolt, flourished on dissent, became great through experimentation.
-- Henry Steele Commager		 
Every effort to confine Americanism to a single pattern, to constrain it to a single formula, is disloyalty to everything that is valid in Americanism.
-- Henry Steele Commager		 
Censorship always defeats its own purpose, for it creates, in the end, the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion... In the long run it will create a generation incapable of appreciating the difference between independence of thought and subservience.
-- Henry Steele Commager		 
Our tradition is one of protest and revolt, and it is stultifying to celebrate the rebels of the past while we silence the rebels of the present.
-- Henry Steele Commager		 
Men in authority will always think that criticism of their policies is dangerous. They will always equate their policies with patriotism, and find criticism subversive.
-- Henry Steele Commager		 
A free society cherishes nonconformity. It knows from the non-conformist, from the eccentric, have come many of the great ideas.
-- Henry Steele Commager		 
Freedom is not a luxury that we can indulge in when at last we have security and prosperity and enlightenment; it is, rather, antecedent to all of these, for without it we can have neither security nor prosperity nor enlightenment.
-- Henry Steele Commager		 
The justification and the purpose of freedom of speech is not to indulge those who want to speak their minds. It is to prevent error and discover truth. There may be other ways of detecting error and discovering truth than that of free discussion, but so far we have not found them.
-- Henry Steele Commager		 
Men in authority will always think that criticism of their policies is dangerous. They will always equate their policies with patriotism, and find criticism subversive.
-- Henry Steele Commager		 
Lawyers are being graduated from our law schools by the thousands who have little knowledge of the Constitution. When  organizations seek a lawyer to instruct them on the Constitution, they find it nearly impossible to secure one competent.
-- Committee on American Citizenship		 
We must create out of the younger generation a generation of Communists. We must turn children, who can be shaped like wax, into real, good Communists.... We must remove the children from the crude influence of their families. We must take them over and, to speak frankly, nationalize them. From the first days of their lives they will be under the healthy influence of Communist children's nurseries and schools. There they will grow up to be real Communists.
-- Communist Party Education Workers Congress		 
Communist Rules for Revolution...\\\\ 1. Corrupt the young; get them away from religion. Get them interested in sex. Make them superficial; destroy their ruggedness.\\ 2. By specious argument cause the breakdown of old moral virtues; honesty, sobriety, continence, faith in the pledged word, ruggedness.\\ 3. Encourage civil disorders and foster a lenient and soft attitude on the part of government toward such disorders.\\ 4. Divide the people into hostile groups by constantly harping on controversial matters of no importance.\\ 5. Get people's minds off their government by focusing their attention on athletics, sexy books, plays, and other trivialities.\\ 6. Get control of all means of publicity.\\ 7. Destroy the people's faith in their natural leaders by holding the latter up to contempt, ridicule and obloquy (disgrace).\\ 8. Cause the registration of all firearms on some pretext, with a view to confiscation and leaving the population helpless.\\
-- Communist Rules for Revolution (Questionable)		 
[When] Men are not allowed to think freely about chemistry and biology, why should they be allowed to think freely about political philosophy?
-- Auguste Comte		 
Social positivism only accepts duties, for all and towards all. Its constant social viewpoint cannot include any notion of rights, for such notion always rests on individuality. We are born under a load of obligations of every kind, to our predecessors, to our successors, to our contemporaries. These obligations then increase or accumulate, for it is some time before we can return any service. ... Any human right is therefore as absurd as immoral. Since there are no divine rights anymore, this concept must therefore disappear completely as related only to the preliminary regime and totally inconsistent with the final state where there are only duties based on functions.
-- Auguste Comte		 
Diversity of opinion within the framework of loyalty to our free society is not only basic to a university but to the entire nation.
-- James Bryant Conant		 
Eight days after taking over the reins of his country, a beloved leader urged everyone to turn in their arms - “There is no longer an enemy,” he said. A slogan, “Arms—What For?” appeared throughout the nation. Thirty days later he ordered his militia to turn in their arms. Promised elections are cancelled, the loved leader becomes a tyrant and his people lose all rights, including freedom of speech and press, becoming a totalitarian state for the next 35 years. For those Americans currently willing to agree to have some of their rights curtailed for temporary security, I’d urge them to look south -- to Cuba.
-- Yvonne M. Conde		 
Nobody should be compelled to respect an ideology that doesn’t respect them.
-- Pat Condell		 
He who will not economize will have to agonize.
-- Confucius		 
If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher. I will pick out the good points of the one and imitate them, and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself.
-- Confucius		 
Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles.
-- Confucius		 
The superior man cannot be known in little matters, but he may be entrusted with great concerns. The small man may not be entrusted with great concerns, but he may be known in little matters.
-- Confucius		 
Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Let me do and I understand.
-- Confucius		 
To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice.
-- Confucius		 
Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.
-- Confucius		 
The superior man understands what is right. The inferior man understands what is popular.
-- Confucius		 
By nature men are pretty much alike; it is learning and practice that set them apart.
-- Confucius		 
If language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant; if what is said is not what is meant, then what must be done remains undone; if this remains undone, morals and art will deteriorate; if justice goes astray, the people will stand about in helpless confusion. Hence there must be no arbitrariness in what is said. This matters above everything.
-- Confucius		 
No mask like open truth to cover lies,\\As to go naked is the best disguise.
-- William Congreve		 
Every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself and the state.
-- Connecticut Constitution		 
You can’t, in sound morals, condemn a man for taking care of his own integrity. It is his clear duty.
-- Joseph Conrad		 
Of all the inanimate objects, of all men’s creations, books are the nearest to us, for they contain our very thoughts, our ambitions, our indignations, our illusions, our fidelity to truth, and our persistent leaning toward error.
-- Joseph Conrad		 
Thus arbitrary power will have divided men of superior intelligence into two groups: the former will be seditious, the latter corrupt...
-- Benjamin Constant		 
No duty, however, binds us to these so-called laws, whose corrupting influence menaces what is noblest in our being...
-- Benjamin Constant		 
First ask yourselves, Gentlemen, what an Englishman, a Frenchman, and a citizen of the United States of America understand today by the word 'liberty'. For each of them it is the right to be subjected only to the laws, and to be neither arrested, detained, put to death nor maltreated in any way by the arbitrary will of one or more individuals. It is the right of everyone to express their opinion, choose a profession and practice it, to dispose of property, and even to abuse it; to come and go without permission, and without having to account for their motives or undertakings. It is everyone's right to associate with other individuals, either to discuss their interests, or to profess the religion which they or their associates prefer, or even simply to occupy their days or hours in a way which is more compatible with their inclinations or whims. Finally, it is everyone's right to exercise some influence on the administration of the government, either by electing all or particular officials, or through representations, petitions, demands to which the authorities are more or less compelled to pay heed. Now compare this liberty with that of the ancients. The latter consisted in exercising collectively, but directly, several parts of the complete sovereignty; in deliberating, in the public square, over war and peace; in forming alliances with foreign governments; in voting laws, in pronouncing judgments; in examining the accounts, the acts, the stewardship of the magistrates; in calling them to appear in front of the assembled people, in accusing, condemning or absolving them. But if this was what the ancients called liberty, they admitted as compatible with this collective freedom the complete subjection of the individual to the authority of the community.
-- Benjamin Constant		 
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government.
-- Constitution for the United States		 
We the People of the united States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
-- Constitution for the USA		 
In all criminal cases whatsoever, the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the facts.
-- Indiana Constitution		 
Every citizen has a right to keep and bear arms; and this right shall never be questioned.
-- Maine Constitution		 
The people have a right to keep and bear arms for the common defense. And as, in times of peace, armies are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be maintained without the consent of the Legislature; and the military power shall always be held in an exact subordination to the Civil authority, and be governed by it.
-- Massachusetts Constitution		 
Every person has a right to keep and bear arms for the defense of himself and the state.
-- Michigan Constitution		 
The right of any person to keep or bear arms in defense of his own home, person, and property, or in aid of the civil power when thereto legally summoned, shall not be called in question, but nothing herein contained shall be held to permit the carrying of concealed weapons.
-- Montana Constitution		 
Every citizen has the right to keep and bear arms for security and defense, for lawful hunting and recreational use and for other lawful purposes.
-- Nevada Constitution		 
All persons have the right to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves, their families, their property and the state.
-- New Hampshire Constitution		 
The doctrine of non-resistance against arbitrary power and oppression, is absurd, slavish, and destructive of the good and happiness of mankind.
-- New Hampshire Constitution		 
All lawful authority comes from God to the people.
-- Constitution of the Irish Free State		 
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury... nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb, nor shall be compelled in any Criminal Case to be a witness against himself, not be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
-- Constitution of the United States		 
Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed.
-- Constitution of UNESCO		 
That the people have a right to freedom of speech, and of writing, and publishing their sentiments; therefore, the freedom of the press ought not to be restrained.
-- Pennsylvania Constitution		 
The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government...
-- U. S. Constitution		 
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
-- U.S. Constitution		 
America is a country in which I see the most persistant idealism and the blandest of cynicism and the race is on between its vitality and its decadence.
-- Alistair Cooke		 
As for the rage to believe that we have found the secret of liberty in general permissiveness from the cradle on, this seems to me a disastrous sentimentality, which, whatever liberties it sets loose, loosens also the cement that alone can bind society into a stable compound -- a code of obeyed taboos. I can only recall the saying of a wise Frenchman that `liberty is the luxury of self-discipline.' Historically, those peoples that did not discipline themselves had discipline thrust on them from the outside. That is why the normal cycle in the life and death of great nations has been first a powerful tyranny broken by revolt, the enjoyment of liberty, the abuse of liberty -- and back to tyranny again. As I see it, in this country -- a land of the most persistent idealism and the blandest cynicism -- the race is on between its decadence and its vitality.
-- Alistair Cooke		 
Liberty is the luxury of self-discipline, that those nations historically who have failed to discipline themselves have had discipline imposed by others.
-- Alistair Cooke		 
Fidelity to the public requires that the laws be as plain and explicit as possible, that the less knowing may understand, and not be ensnared by them, while the artful evade their force.
-- Samuel Cooke		 
So far as discipline is concerned, freedom means not its absence but the use of higher and more rational forms as contrasted with those that are lower or less rational.
-- Charles Horton Cooley		 
We must pity the poor wretched, timid soul who is too faint-hearted to resist his oppressors. He sings the song of the dammed: “I can’t fight back; I have too much to lose; I own too much property; I have worked too hard to get what I have; They will put me out of business if I resist; I might go to jail; I have my family to think about.” Such poor miserable creatures have misplaced values and are hiding their cowardice behind pretended family responsibility -- blindly refusing to see that the most glorious legacy that one can bequeath to posterity is liberty; and that the only true security is liberty.
-- Marvin Cooley		 
I will no longer pay for the destruction of my country, family, and self. Damn tyranny! Damn the Federal Reserve liars and thieves! Damn all pettifogging, oath-breaking US attorneys and judges.… I will see you all in Hell and shed my blood before I will be robbed of one more dollar to finance a national policy of treason, plunder, and corruption
-- Marvin Cooley		 
The right is general. It may be supposed from the phraseology of this provision that the right to keep and bear arms was only guaranteed to the militia; but this would be an interpretation not warranted by the intent. The militia, as has been explained elsewhere, consists of those persons who, under the law, are liable to the performance of military duty, and are officered and enrolled for service when called upon. . . . [I]f the right were limited to those enrolled, the purpose of the guarantee might be defeated altogether by the action or the neglect to act of the government it was meant to hold in check. The meaning of the provision undoubtedly is, that the people, from whom the militia must be taken, shall have the right to keep and bear arms, and they need no permission or regulation of law for that purpose.
-- Thomas Cooley		 
I sometimes wish that people would put a little more emphasis upon the observance of the law than they do upon its enforcement.
-- Calvin Coolidge		 
It is much more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones.
-- Calvin Coolidge		 
It is much more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones.
-- Calvin Coolidge		 
The collection of taxes which are not absolutely required, which do not beyond reasonable doubt contribute to the public welfare, is only a species of legalized larceny. The wise and correct course to follow in taxation is not to destroy those who have already secured success, but to create conditions under which everyone will have a better chance to be successful.
-- Calvin Coolidge		 
I want the people of America to be able to work less for the government and more for themselves. I want them to have the rewards of their own industry. This is the chief meaning of freedom. Until we can reestablish a condition under which the earnings of the people can be kept by the people, we are bound to suffer a very severe and distinct curtailment of our liberty.
-- Calvin Coolidge		 
No matter what anyone may say about making the rich and the corporations pay taxes, in the end they come out of the people who toil.
-- Calvin Coolidge		 
When more and more people are thrown out of work, unemployment results.
-- Calvin Coolidge		 
Liberty is not collective, it is personal. All liberty is individual liberty.
-- Calvin Coolidge		 
We do not need more intellectual power, we need more moral power. We do not need more knowledge, we need more character. We do not need more government, we need more culture. We do not need more law, we need more religion. We do not need more of the things that are seen, we need more of the things that are unseen.... If the foundation is firm, the superstructure will stand.
-- Calvin Coolidge		 
I have never been hurt by anything I didn't say.
-- Calvin Coolidge		 
Nothing is easier than spending public money. It does not appear to belong to anybody. The temptation is overwhelming to bestow it on somebody.
-- Calvin Coolidge		 
We demand entire freedom of action and then expect the government in some miraculous way to save us from the consequences of our own acts.... Self-government means self-reliance.
-- Calvin Coolidge		 
Nature is inexorable. If men do not follow the truth they cannot live.
-- Calvin Coolidge		 


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