Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,161,745 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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Freedom
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“Slavery was the cause... [O]ur success was to be his freedom.”
William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891) first seen 1891 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman (1891), New York, pp. 2:180–81
“You look at the plan to increase the efforts to prop up the single currency with an ever denser system of integration, with more and more regulation about all sorts of social and economic issues which will impact directly on this country, I think the risk is increasingly in staying in the project. I think the best thing we can do is show a lead, show an example and strike out for freedom.”
Boris Johnson (born 1964) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Boris Johnson: EU exit 'win-win for us all', BBC News (11 March 2016)
“Unless we exercise our power to choose wisely, our actions will be determined by conditions. Our ultimate freedom is the right and power to decide how anybody or anything outside ourselves will affect us.”
Stephen Covey (1932–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Because of the space between stimulus and response, people have the power of choice; therefore, leaders are neither born nor made — meaning environmentally trained and nurtured. They are self-made through chosen responses, and if they choose based on principles and develop increasingly greater discipline, their freedom to choose increases.”
Stephen Covey (1932–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I never describe my position in terms of negatives. I am an advocate of laissez-faire capitalism, of individual rights—there are no others—of individual freedom. It is on this g round that I oppose any doctrine which proposes the sacrifice of the individual to the collective, such as communism, socialism, the welfare state, fascism, Nazism and modern liberalism.”
Ayn Rand (1905–1982) said by 1982 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Value your freedom or you will lose it, teaches history. "Don't bother us with politics," respond those who don't want to learn.”
Richard Stallman (born 1953) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Linux, GNU, and freedom" in LinuxWorld (May 2002)
“I don't have a problem with someone using their talents to become successful, I just don't think the highest calling is success. Things like freedom and the expansion of knowledge are beyond success, beyond the personal. Personal success is not wrong, but it is limited in importance, and once you have enough of it it is a shame to keep striving for that, instead of for truth, beauty, or justice.”
Richard Stallman (born 1953) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Free Software as a Social Movement" on Znet (December 18, 2005)
“One reason you should not use web applications to do your computing is that you lose control. It's just as bad as using a proprietary program. Do your own computing on your own computer with your copy of a freedom-respecting program. If you use a proprietary program or somebody else's web server, you're defenceless. You're putty in the hands of whoever developed that software.”
Richard Stallman (born 1953) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Cloud computing is a trap, warns GNU founder Richard Stallman", in The Guardian (29 September 2008)
“He himself must be the key, now, to the next door, the next terrors of freedom and joy.”
Denise Levertov (1923–1997) said by 1997 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I think this whole notion that somehow we can just say no more Muslims, just ban a whole religion, goes against everything we stand for and believe in. I wouldn't support a ban on all Muslims coming into this country... I mean, religious freedom has been a very important part of our history and where we came from... A lot of people, my ancestors got here, because they were Puritans.”
Dick Cheney (1941–2025) first seen 2015 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On The Hugh Hewitt Show (7 December 2015).
“My soul has gained the freedom of the night.”
Elizabeth Bibesco (1897–1945) first seen 1928 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Poems (1928)
“Freedom is neither a legal invention nor a philosophical conquest, the cherished possession of civilizations more valid than others because they alone have been able to create or preserve it. It is the outcome of an objective relationship between the individual and the space he occupies, between the consumer and the resources at his disposal.”
Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908–2009) said by 2009 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Freedom does not consist in any dreamt-of independence from natural laws, but in the knowledge of these laws, and in the possibility this gives of systematically making them work towards definite ends.”
Friedrich Engels (1820–1895) first seen 1877 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Anti-Dühring, pt. 1, ch. 11 (1877)
“We are rightfully outraged when anyone attacks or desecrates our flag. Few Americans do such things and when they do they are subject to the rightful condemnation of their fellow citizens. They may be destroying a piece of cloth, but they do no damage to our system of freedom which tolerates such desecration.”
Colin Powell (1937–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To understand political power aright, and derive from it its original, we must consider what estate all men are naturally in, and that is, a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons as they think fit, within the bounds of the law of Nature, without asking leave or depending upon the will of any other man.”
John Locke (1632–1704) said by 1704 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Keep your freedom, keep your immortality, but somewhere along the line I hope you figure out what you're living forever for. What noble purpose you mean to achieve. Because you're no good to anyone here, not even yourselves.”
Orson Scott Card (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If there's no place in the universe for a man to resist the thieves of freedom and still be called a good man, then I don't think there is any good or evil in the universe.”
Orson Scott Card (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Keeping secrets was the beginning of freedom.”
Orson Scott Card (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He was wild the way a mistreated dog becomes wild, not because it loves freedom, but because it has lost trust.”
Orson Scott Card (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In a way, he lost some of himself, some of his knack, and therefore some of the choices he might have had in life. But in losing those, he gained so much more freedom, so much more power, that he was clear winner in the bargain.”
Orson Scott Card (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He had left home to get away, not to go toward anything. There was no greater freedom than that.”
Orson Scott Card (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Freedom is only necessity understood.”
William James (1842–1910) first seen 1884 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Dilemma of Determinism (1884)
“Two principles, according to the Settembrinian cosmogony, were in perpetual conflict for possession of the world: force and justice, tyranny and freedom, superstition and knowledge; the law of permanence and the law of change, of ceaseless fermentation issuing in progress.”
Thomas Mann (1875–1955) said by 1955 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In America, through pressure of conformity, there is freedom of choice, but nothing to choose from.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) first seen 1982 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Morrow's International Dictionary of Contemporary Quotations (1982) by Jonathon Green
“In parrhesia the speaker uses his freedom and chooses frankness instead of persuasion, truth instead of falsehood or silence, the risk of death instead of life and security, criticism instead of flattery, and moral duty instead of and moral apathy... in most of the Greek texts... from the Fifth Century B.C. to the Fifth Century A.D.”
Michel Foucault (1926–1984) said by 1984 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No easy hope or lies Shall bring us to our goal, But iron sacrifice Of body, will, and soul. There is but one task for all— One life for each to give. What stands if Freedom fall? Who dies if England live?”
Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) said by 1936 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Evidence of submission is displayed by the employee’s going through years depriving himself of his personal freedom for nine hours every day, his ritualistic and punctual arrival at an office, his denying himself his own schedule, and his not having beaten up anyone on the way back home after a bad day. He is an obedient, housebroken dog.”
Nassim Nicholas Taleb (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The big advantage of being a chemistry major was the freedom to be tasteless.”
Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Who is more to be pitied, a writer bound and gagged by policemen or one living in perfect freedom who has nothing more to say?”
Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[Freedom of speech] isn't something somebody else gives you. That's something you give to yourself.”
Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I thought today's women were independent and had a lot of sexual freedom. ... Well, I guess they fooled me.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In April 2006, about women's disaproval of s. As quoted in Trump on Clinton in 2008: ‘She'd make a good president (July 11, 2016) by Michael Rothfield and , .
“I pledge to never sign any trade agreement that hurts our workers, or that diminishes our freedom and independence. Instead, I will make individual deals with individual countries.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Eight years of Obama-Clinton policies have sacrificed our safety and undermined our freedom and independence. ... The Obama-Clinton foreign policy has unleashed ISIS, destabilised the Middle East and put the nation of Iran — which chants Death to America — in a dominant position of regional power and, in fact, aspiring to be a dominant world power.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The American people’s birthright of freedom must prevail against Big Tech and other forces that seek to destroy it.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) first seen 2021 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 7 July 2021 Politico, Trump plans class action suit against Twitter, Facebook
“Firebugs dragging their gasoline bottles Are approaching the Academy of Arts, with a grin. And so, instead of embracing them, Let us demand the freedom of the elbow To knock the bottles out of their filthy hands. Even the most blockheaded bureaucrat, Provided he loves peace, Is a greater lover of the arts Than any so-called art-lover Who loves the arts of war.”
Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) said by 1956 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Freedom for Whom", as translated in Brecht on Brecht : An Improvisation (1967) by George Tabori, p. 18
“Goodness is not in the backyard of the individual nor in the open field of the collective; goodness flowers only in freedom from both.”
Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986) said by 1986 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The individuality is the name, the form and superficial culture he acquires from tradition and environment. The uniqueness of man does not lie in the superficial but in complete freedom from the content of his consciousness, which is common to all humanity.”
Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986) said by 1986 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I like to play any character that allows me the freedom to explore it and teach the audience something they didn't know, and show them a journey they identify with … or be inspired, or moved. Anything that touches someone's heart is important for me.”
Alicia Witt (born 1975) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“isn’t it nice to know that you’re not my consolation prize doesn’t it feel like freedom breathin in and out now isn’t it good to see all the love in someone else’s eyes doesn’t it all make sense that you’re better off without me”
Alicia Witt (born 1975) first seen 2015 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Consolation Prize · performance on The Queen Latifah Show (2015)
“Aye, there’s the bitter core of all freedom: no pay!”
Fritz Leiber (1910–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There are many evils in this country. The only remedy for every one of them is freedom for the nation.”
Kalki Krishnamurthy (1899–1954) said by 1954 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Poison Cure", as translated by Gowri Ramnarayan in Kalki : Selected Stories (1999)
“If a Tory does not believe that private property is one of the main bulwarks of individual freedom, then he had better become a socialist and have done with it.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1975 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Article for Daily Telegraph ("My Kind of Tory Party") (30 January 1975)
“There is no such thing as “safe” Socialism. If it's safe, it's not Socialism. And if it's Socialism, it's not safe. The signposts of Socialism point downhill to less freedom, less prosperity, downhill to more muddle, more failure. If we follow them to their destination, they will lead this nation into bankruptcy.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1976 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to Conservative Central Council ("The Historic Choice") (20 March 1976)
“Marxists get up early in the morning to further their cause. We must get up even earlier to defend our freedom.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1978 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Article for Hamburger Abendblatt (13 May 1978)
“We Conservatives...are realists. We know that the British are one of the most creative and gifted peoples on earth. But we also know that the British are individualists, who do not respond to state direction and control. We like leadership—yes. But, above all, we like freedom.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Article for the News of the World (29 April 1979)
“In this over-governed country of ours, the creative majority have too little freedom, and the tiny minority of wreckers have too much licence. The government I shall form next weekend will decisively reverse this state of affairs. Help me to liberate those who create wealth—and to make the wreckers run for cover.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Article for the News of the World (29 April 1979)
“The choice facing the nation is between two totally different ways of life. And what a prize we have to fight for: no less than the chance to banish from our land the dark, divisive clouds of Marxist socialism and bring together men and women from all walks of life who share a belief in freedom.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1983 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in Perth, Scotland (13 May 1983), quoted in New York Times (14 May 1983) "British Vote Campaign Gets Off to Angry Start
“Peace, freedom and justice are only to be found where people are prepared to defend them.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1982 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to the Conservative Party Convention 1982
“You never compromise with violence. You never compromise with intimidation. You never compromise by those who want to use those to extinguish freedom and democracy, because if you do then the very things for which you stand are extinguished.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1985 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: TV Interview for Channel 4 A Week in Politics (1 February 1985)
“I set out to destroy socialism because I felt it was at odds with the character of the people. We were the first country in the world to roll back the frontiers of socialism, then roll forward the frontiers of freedom. We reclaimed our heritage; we are renewing it and carrying it forward.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1992 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted from Margaret Thatcher, Article for Newsweek “Don’t undo my work” (27 April 1992)