Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom; and no such thing as public liberty, without freedom of speech.

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

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.

The greatest tyrannies are always perpetuated in the name of the noblest causes.

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.

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.

You must love in such a way that the person you love feels free.

It was that which gave promise that in due time the weights would be lifted from the shoulders of all men, and that all should have an equal chance. This is the sentiment embodied in the Declaration of Independence. . . . I would rather be assassinated on this spot than surrender it.

This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it.

Evil comes from the abuse of free will.

It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably gracious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them.

You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind.

You cannot possibly have a broader basis for any government than that which includes all the people, with all their rights in their hands, and with an equal power to maintain their rights.

Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word: equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.

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.

Either you will control your government, or government will control you.

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

The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep’s throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act. . . . Plainly the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon the definition of liberty.

Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them.

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore, send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

Liberty without Learning is always in peril and Learning without Liberty is always in vain.

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

I had always hoped that this land might become a safe & agreeable Asylum to the virtuous & persecuted part of mankind, to whatever nation they might belong.

When even one American, who has done nothing wrong, is forced by fear to shut his mind and close his mouth, then all Americans are in peril.

The only way to make sure people you agree with can speak is to support the rights of people you don’t agree with.

Silence at the proper season is wisdom, and better than any speech.

Since men are neither omniscient nor infallible, they must be free to agree or disagree, to cooperate or to pursue their own independent course, each according to his own rational judgment. Freedom is the fundamental requirement of man's mind.

Let thy speech be short, comprehending much in few words

Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

Teach your child to hold his tongue; he'll learn fast enough to speak.

Great wisdom is generous, petty wisdom is contentious. Great speech is impassioned, small speech in cantankerous.

I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.

The truth has no defense against a fool determined to believe a lie.

Men should strive to think much and know little.

Think not disdainfully of death, but look on it with favor; for even dearth is one of the things that Nature wills.

The world is a comedy to those that think, and a tragedy to those that feel.

I have no desire to suffer twice, in reality and then in retrospect.

Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.

One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea.

It doesn't matter how smart you are unless you stop and think.

Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively.