Famous quotes
Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,158,808 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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“Liberty is the possibility of isolation.”
Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) said by 1935 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Nothing is so wearing as the possession or abuse of liberty.”
Emil Cioran (1911–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“By liberty, then, we can only mean a power of acting or not acting, according to the determinations of the will.”
David Hume (1711–1776) said by 1776 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Hypothetical liberty is allowed to everyone who is not a prisoner and in chains”
David Hume (1711–1776) said by 1776 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Every man may claim the fullest liberty to exercise his faculties compatible with the possession of like liberties by every other man.”
Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) said by 1903 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“649. A beane in liberty is better than a comfit in prison.”
George Herbert (1593–1633) said by 1633 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“779. He that marries for wealth sells his liberty.”
George Herbert (1593–1633) said by 1633 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
Karl Hess (1923–1994) first seen 1964 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Barry Goldwater's speech accepting the Republican presidential nomination, written by Karl Hess, delivered 16 July 1964, San Francisco.
Also quoted by: Barry Goldwater
“Without the state there would be anarchy for that is, despite all the perfervid ravings of the Marxist Left and statist Right, all that anarchy means—the absence of the state, the opportunity for liberty.”
Karl Hess (1923–1994) said by 1994 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As long as the reason of man continues fallible, and he is at liberty to exercise it, different opinions will be formed. As long as the connection subsists between his reason and his self-love, his opinions and his passions will have a reciprocal influence on each other; and the former will be objects to which the latter will attach themselves.”
James Madison (1751–1836) said by 1836 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Justice is the end of Government. It is the end of civil society. It ever has been, and ever will be pursued, until it be obtained, or until liberty be lost in the pursuit.”
James Madison (1751–1836) first seen 1788 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Federalist No. 51 (6 February 1788)
Also quoted by: Alexis de Tocqueville
“Twenty years will produce all the mischief that can be apprehended from the liberty to import slaves. So long a term will be more dishonorable to the National character than to say nothing about it in the Constitution.”
James Madison (1751–1836) first seen 1787 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Madison's notes (25 August 1787)
“It must not be so; because we intend this Constitution to be the great charter of Human Liberty to the unborn millions who shall enjoy its protection, and who should never see that such an institution as slavery was ever known in our midst.”
James Madison (1751–1836) first seen 1787 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Regarding using the words "slave" or "slaver" in the U.S. Constitution (25 August 1787); as quoted in "The Present Aspect of the Slavery Question" in Orations and Addresses of George William Curtis (1894), p. 69
“Perhaps it is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged to provisions agst. danger real or pretended from abroad.”
James Madison (1751–1836) first seen 1798 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Thomas Jefferson (13 May 1798); published in Letters and Other Writings of James Madison (1865), Vol. II, p. 141
“The happy Union of these States is a wonder; their Constitution a miracle; their example the hope of Liberty throughout the world.”
James Madison (1751–1836) first seen 1829 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Outline" notes (September 1829), in The Writings of James Madison (1910) by Gaillard Hunt, Vol. 9, p. 357. Inscribed in the Madison Memorial Hall, Library of Congress James Madison Memorial Building.
“To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists, for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve. They give ammunition to America's enemies, and pause to America's friends. They encourage people of good will to remain silent in the face of evil.”
John Ashcroft (born 1942) first seen 2001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Testimony to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee (6 December 2001)
“In America the majority raises formidable barriers around the liberty of opinion; within these barriers an author may write what he pleases, but woe to him if he goes beyond them.”
Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859) said by 1859 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other; and with them this conviction does not spring from that barren traditionary faith which seems to vegetate in the soul rather than to live.”
Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859) said by 1859 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot. How is it possible that society should escape destruction if the moral tie is not strengthened in proportion as the political tie is relaxed? And what can be done with a people who are their own masters if they are not submissive to the Deity?”
Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859) said by 1859 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They call, in fact, for the forfeiture, to a greater or less degree, of human liberty, to the point where, were I to attempt to sum up what socialism is, I would say that it was simply a new system of serfdom.”
Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859) first seen 1848 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Notes for a Speech on Socialism (1848). http://oll.libertyfund.org/pages/tocqueville-s-critique-of-socialism-1848
“The Xanthians, suspecting my kindness, have made their country the grave of their despair; the Patareans, trusting themselves to me, enjoy in all points their former liberty; it is in your power to choose the judgment of the Patareans or the fortune of the Xanthians.”
Marcus Junius Brutus (85–42 BC) said by 42 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Swift has sailed into his rest; Savage indignation there Cannot lacerate his breast. Imitate him if you dare, World-besotted traveller; he Served human liberty.”
William Butler Yeats (1865–1939) said by 1939 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The destiny of America was proclaimed in words of prophecy spoken by our first President in his first inaugural in 1789 — words almost directed, it would seem, to this year of 1941: "The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered … deeply,... finally, staked on the experiment intrusted to the hands of the American people.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) said by 1945 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The dearest ambition of a slave is not liberty but to have a slave of his own.”
Richard Francis Burton (1821–1890) first seen 1885 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night (1885) When it was the Three Hundred and Sixtieth Night, footnote
“I found the world completely and totally fantastic as a child. Of course, I had the usual fears, like going to school ... For me, back then, school was a crime against young people. It destroyed the seeds of liberty. The teachers didn't encourage knowledge or a positive attitude.”
David Lynch (1946–2025) first seen 1993 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Lynch on Lynch (1997; 2005 revised edition) by Chris Rodley, based on personal interviews made from 1993 to 1996.
“Money, money, always money — that is the essence of democracy. Democracy is more expensive than monarchy; it is incompatible with liberty.”
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Solution Du Problême Social, quoted by Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn in The Menace of the Herd (1943), p. 328
“Bets were being made, being covered. The kickers were producing the hard stuff, the old stuff, liberty-headed dollars and Roosevelt dimes from the stamp-and-coin stores, while more cautious bettors slapped down antique paper dollars laminated in clear plastic. Through the haze came a trio of red planes, flying in formation. Fokker D.VIIs. The room fell silent.”
William Gibson (born 1948) first seen 1985 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Dogfight" (co-authored with Michael Swanwick, first appearing in Omni, July 1985)
“Do not reveal, if liberty is precious to you; my face is the prison of love.”
Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) said by 1519 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is true that liberty is precious — so precious that it must be rationed.”
Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) said by 1924 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Soviet Communism : A New Civilization? (1936) by Sidney & Beatrice Webb
“If the learned and worldly-wise men of this age were to allow mankind to inhale the fragrance of fellowship and love, every understanding heart would apprehend the meaning of true liberty, and discover the secret of undisturbed peace and absolute composure.”
Bahá'u'lláh (1817–1892) said by 1892 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Liberty, as we all know, cannot flourish in a country that is permanently on a war footing, or even a near war footing. Permanent crisis justifies permanent control of everybody and everything by the agencies of central government.”
Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I stand on this rostrum with a sense of deep humility and great pride — humility in the weight of those great American architects of our history who have stood here before me; pride in the reflection that this home of legislative debate represents human liberty in the purest form yet devised.”
Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I believe in one Gnostic and Catholic Church of Light, Life, Love and Liberty, the Word of whose Law is THELEMA.”
Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The only proper, moral purpose of a government is to protect man's rights, which means: to protect him from physical violence—to protect his right to his own life, to his own liberty, to his own property and to the pursuit of his own happiness. Without property rights, no other rights are possible.”
Ayn Rand (1905–1982) said by 1982 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Denotation by means of sounds and markings is a remarkable abstraction. Three letters designate God for me; several lines a million things. How easy becomes the manipulation of the universe here, how evident the concentration of the intellectual world! Language is the dynamics of the spiritual realm. One word of command moves armies; the word Liberty entire nations.”
Novalis (1772–1801) said by 1801 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges every one: and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind, who will but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.”
John Locke (1632–1704) said by 1704 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If you punish him for what he sees you practise yourself, he... will be apt to interpret it the peevishness and arbitrary imperiousness of a father, who, without any ground for it, would deny his son the liberty and pleasure he takes himself.”
John Locke (1632–1704) said by 1704 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Chinese believe that when there are too many policemen, there can be no individual liberty, when there are too many lawyers, there can be no justice, and when there are too many soldiers, there can be no peace.”
Lin Yutang (1895–1976) first seen 1943 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Between Tears And Laughter (1943), p. 71. Variant: "When there are too many policemen, there can be no liberty. When there are too many soldiers, there can be no peace. When there are too many lawyers, there can be no j…
“The ethical commonplaces of any period include ideas that may have been radical discoveries in a previous age. This is true of modern conceptions of liberty, equality, and democracy, and we are in the midst of ethical debates which will probably result two hundred years hence in a disseminated moral sensibility that people of our time would find very unfamiliar.”
Thomas Nagel (born 1937) first seen 1978 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ethics without Biology" (1978), p. 143.
“The guillotine takes life almost without touching the body, just as prison deprives of liberty or a fine reduces wealth. It is intended to apply the law not so to a real body capable of feeling pain as to a juridical subject, the possessor, among other rights, of the right to exist it had to have the abstraction of the law itself.”
Michel Foucault (1926–1984) said by 1984 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The slaves of power mind the cause they have to serve, because their own interest is concerned; but the friends of liberty always sacrifice their cause, which is only the cause of humanity, to their own spleen, vanity, and self-opinion.”
William Hazlitt (1778–1830) first seen 1818 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Review of Lord Byron's Childe Harold in Yellow Dwarf (2 May 1818), reprinted in The Collected Works of William Hazlitt, ed. A.R. Waller and Arnold Glover (1902-1904)
“The love of liberty is the love of others; the love of power is the love of ourselves.”
William Hazlitt (1778–1830) said by 1830 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Liberty is a duty, not a right.”
Benito Mussolini (1883–1945) first seen 1924 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech on the 5th anniversary of the Combat Leagues (24 March 1924) quoted in Ezra Pound and Italian Fascism (1991) by Tim Redman, p. 114.
“I know not how the world will receive it, nor how it may reflect on those that shall seem to favor it. For in a way beset with those that contend, on one side for too great Liberty, and on the other side for too much Authority, 'tis hard to passe between the points of both unwounded.”
Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) first seen 1651 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Epistle Dedicatory, Paris, April 15-25, 1651
“The RIGHT OF NATURE, which Writers commonly call Jus Naturale, is the Liberty each man hath, to use his own power, as he will himself, for the preservation of his own Nature; that is to say, of his own Life; and consequently, of doing any thing, which in his own Judgement, and Reason, he shall conceive to be the aptest means thereunto.”
Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) said by 1679 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“That a man be willing, when others are so too, as farre-forth, as for Peace, and defence of himself he shall think it necessary, to lay down this right to all things; and be contented with so much liberty against other men, as he would allow other men against himself.”
Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) said by 1679 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We study the glory of God, and the honour and liberty of parliament, for which we unanimously fight, without seeking our own interests... I profess I could never satisfy myself on the justness of this war, but from the authority of the parliament to maintain itself in its rights; and in this cause I hope to prove myself an honest man and single-hearted.”
Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658) first seen 1644 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Statement to Colonel Valentine Walton (5 or 6 September 1644)
“Your pretended fear lest error should step in, is like the man that would keep all the wine out of the country lest men should be drunk. It will be found an unjust and unwise jealousy, to deny a man the liberty he hath by nature upon a supposition that he may abuse it.”
Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658) first seen 1650 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Walter Dundas (12 September 1650)
“I desire not to keep my place in this government an hour longer than I may preserve England in its just rights, and may protect the people of God in such a just liberty of their consciences...”
Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658) first seen 1655 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech dissolving the First Protectorate Parliament (22 January 1655)
“We had to fight the enemy without in the Falklands and now we have to fight the enemy within, which is much more difficult but just as dangerous to liberty.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1922 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to 1922 Committee (19 July 1984), quoted in John Campbell, Margaret Thatcher. The Iron Lady (London: Jonathan Cape, 2003), p. 361.