God grant that not only the love of liberty but a thorough knowledge of the rights of man may pervade all the nations of the earth, so that a philosopher may set his foot anywhere on its surface and say: "This is my country."

I prefer liberty with danger than peace with slavery.

He who has overcome his fears will truly be free.

Why has government been instituted? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason & justice without constraint.

The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.

It is absurd to hold that a man ought to be ashamed of being unable to defend himself with his limbs, but not of being unable to defend himself with speech and reason.

Some people are so used to special treatment that equal treatment is considered to be discrimination.

The highest activity a human being can attain is learning for understanding, because to understand is to be free.

I have said that the Declaration of Independence is the ring-bolt to the chain of your nation’s destiny; so, indeed, I regard it. The principles contained in that instrument are saving principles. Stand by those principles, be true to them on all occasions, in all places, against all foes, and at whatever cost.

The overwhelming importance of the atmosphere means that there are no longer any frontiers to defend against pollution, attack, or propaganda. It means, further, that only by a deep patriotic devotion to one’s country can there be a hope of the kind of protection of the whole planet, which is necessary for the survival of the people of other countries.

As I walked out the door to my freedom I knew that, if I did not leave all the anger, hatred and resentment behind, I would remain a prisoner.

A primary object should be the education of our youth in the science of government. In a republic, what species of knowledge can be equally important? And what duty more pressing than communicating it to those who are to be the future guardians of the liberties of the country.

When one remains silent in the face of oppression, one is on the side of the oppressor.

Fear of serious injury cannot alone justify suppression of free speech and assembly. Men feared witches and burned women. It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears.

Freedom ultimately means the right of the other people to do things you don’t approve of.

Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.

The right of conquest has no foundation other than the right of the strongest.

In order to enjoy the inestimable benefits that the liberty of the press ensures, it is necessary to submit to the inevitable evils that it creates.

Never exceed your rights, and they will soon become unlimited.

There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his.

If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly two be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost.

Let us remind ourselves that it is ordinary people – men and women, boys and girls – that make the world a special place.

Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the state becomes lawless or corrupt.

Thus not only does democracy make every man forget his ancestors, but it hides his descendants and separates his contemporaries from him; it throws him back forever upon himself alone and threatens in the end to confine him entirely within solitude of his own heart.

What is not good for the swarm is not good for the bee.

Teach the ignorant as much as you can; society is culpable in not providing a free education for all and it must answer for the night which it produces. If the soul is left in darkness sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but he who causes the darkness.

Racism must be opposed by all means that humanity has at its disposal.

...the individual ceases to be himself; he adopts entirely the kind of personality offered to him by cultural patterns; and he therefore becomes exactly as all others are and as they expect him to be...The person who gives up his individual self and becomes an automaton, identical with millions of other automatons around him, need not feel alone and anxious any more. But the price he pays, however, is high; it is the loss of his self.

The United States of America is the greatest, the noblest and, in its original founding principles, the only moral country in the history of the world.

You don't have to be big or well known to be great.

The simplest truths often meet the sternest resistance and are slowest in getting general acceptance.

The higher you soar the smaller we appear to those who cannot fly.