Where liberty is, there is my country.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
The true danger is, when liberty is nibbled away, for expedients, and by parts.
—Edmund Burke (1729–97) British Philosopher, Statesman
I would rather not be a king than to forfeit my liberty.
—Plato (428 BCE–347 BCE) Greek Philosopher, Mathematician, Educator
Liberty is a different kind of pain from prison.
—T. S. Eliot (1888–1965) American-British Poet, Dramatist, Literary Critic
It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once.
—David Hume (1711–76) Scottish Philosopher, Historian
There are two freedoms—the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; the true, where he is free to do what he ought.
—Charles Kingsley (1819–75) English Clergyman, Academic, Historian, Novelist
Liberty is the great parent of science and of virtue; and a nation will be great in both always in proportion as it is free.
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American Head of State, Lawyer
There is nothing with which it is so dangerous to take liberties as liberty itself.
—Andre Breton (1896–1966) French Poet, Essayist, Critic
Over grown military establishments are under any form of government inauspicious to liberty, and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty.
—George Washington (1732–99) American Head of State, Military Leader
There is no liberty to men whose passions are stronger than their religious feelings; there is no liberty to men in whom ignorance predominates over knowledge; there is no liberty to men who know not how to govern themselves.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
A sound like a sound of thunder rolled,
And the heart of a nation stirred
—William Ross Wallace (1819–81) American Poet, Lawyer
The principle of liberty and equality, if coupled with mere selfishness, will make men only devils, each trying to be independent that he may fight only for his own interest.—And here is the need of religion and its power, to bring in the principle of benevolence and love to men.
—John Randolph (1773–1833) American Politician
Absolute liberty is absence of restraint; responsibility is restraint; therefore, the ideally free individual is responsible to himself.
—Henry Adams (1838–1918) American Historian, Man of Letters
The Americans combine the notions of religion and liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive of one without the other.
—Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–59) French Historian, Political Scientist
Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American Head of State, Lawyer
The liberty of speaking and writing guards our other liberties.
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American Head of State, Lawyer
I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it.
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American Head of State, Lawyer
All government, of course, is against liberty.
—H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) American Journalist, Literary Critic
In commemoration of the fact that France was our ally in securing independence the citizens of that nation joined with the citizens of the United States in placing in New York harbor an heroic statue representing Liberty enlightening the world. What course shall our nation pursue? Send the statue of Liberty back to France and borrow from England a statue of William the Conqueror?
—William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925) American Political Leader, Diplomat, Politician
Some folks believe liberty is doing as they please, but with controls on others.
—Arnold Glasow (1905–98) American Businessman
It is not one man nor a million, but the spirit of liberty that must be preserved. The waves which dash upon the shore are, one by one, broken, but the ocean conquers nevertheless. It overwhelms the Armada, it wears out the rock. In like manner, whatever the struggle of individuals, the great cause will gather strength.
—Lord Byron (George Gordon Byron) (1788–1824) English Romantic Poet
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
Liberty exists in proportion to wholesome restraint.
—Daniel Webster (1782–1852) American Statesman, Lawyer
That no free government, or the blessing of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue, and by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles.
—George Mason (1725–92) American Revolutionary Statesman
Safety from external danger is the most powerful director of national conduct. Even the ardent love of liberty will after a time, give way to its dictates. The violent destruction of life and property incident to war, the continual effort and alarm attendant on a state of continual danger, will compel nations the most attached to liberty to resort for repose and security to institutions which have a tendency to destroy their civil and political rights. To be more safe, they at length become willing to run the risk of being less free.
—Alexander Hamilton (c.1757–1804) American Federalist Politician, Statesman
Interwoven is the love of liberty with every ligament of the heart.
—George Washington (1732–99) American Head of State, Military Leader
The spirit of liberty is not, as multitudes imagine, a jealousy of our own particular rights, but a respect for the rights of others, and an unwillingness that any one, whether high or low, should be wronged or trampled under foot.
—William Ellery Channing (1780–1842) American Unitarian Theologian, Poet
The way to secure liberty is to place it in the people’s hands, that is, to give them the power at all times to defend it in the legislature and in the courts of justice.
—John Adams (1735–1826) American Head of State, Lawyer
If liberty has any meaning it means freedom to improve.
—Philip Wylie (1902–71) American Dramatist, Essayist, Novelist, Screenwriter
Sell not virtue to purchase wealth, nor liberty to purchase power.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
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