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

I prefer liberty with danger than peace with slavery.

Man is free at the moment he wishes to be.

I did not seek greatness. I only sought to fulfill my duties.

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.

If most of us remain ignorant of ourselves, it is because self-knowledge is painful and we prefer the pleasures of illusion.

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

Early in life I have noticed that no event is ever correctly reported in a newspaper, but in Spain, for the first time, I saw newspaper reports which did not bear any relation to the facts, not even the relationship which is implied in an ordinary lie. I saw great battles reported where there had been no fighting, and complete silence where hundreds of men had been killed. I saw troops who had fought bravely denounced as cowards and traitors, and others who had never seen a shot fired hailed as heroes of imaginary victories; and I saw newspapers in London retailing these lies and eager intellectuals building emotional superstructures over events that never happened. I saw, in fact, history being written not in terms of what happened but of what ought to have happened according to various “party lines.”

I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right.

Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties.

All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.

Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

The progression of emancipation of any class usually, if not always, takes place through the efforts of individuals of that class.

One man thinks himself the master of others but remains more of a slave than they are.

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

Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what they are going to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.

A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.

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."

Tolerance is giving to every other human being every right that you claim for yourself.

A well governed appetite is the greater part of liberty.

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.

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.

Liberty only survives when it is defended.

Statism needs war; a free country does not. Statism survives by looting; a free country survives by producing.

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.

I am the inferior of any man whose rights I trample underfoot. Men are no superior by reason of the accidents of race and color. The are superior who have the best heart—the best brain.

Our country is that spot to which our heart is bound.

Self-control is strength. Right thought is mastery. Calmness is power.

So it is more useful to watch a man in time of peril, and in adversity to discern what kind of man he is; for then at last words of truth are drawn from the depths of his heart, and the mask it torn off, reality remains.

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.

The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity.

The strength and power of a country depends absolutely on the quantity of good men and women in it.

Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven't half the strength you think they have.