Jean-Paul Sartre on liberty

I will not be modest. Humble, as much as you like, but not modest. Modesty is the virtue of the lukewarm.

Fascism is not defined by the number of its victims, but by the way it kills them.

Life has no meaning a priori … It is up to you to give it a meaning, and value is nothing but the meaning that you choose.

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

Thomas Jefferson1743–1826Letter to William Stephens Smith (13 November 1787). Manuscript at the Library of Congress.

• War & Peace

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

Benjamin Franklin1706–1790This was first used by Franklin for the Pennsylvania Assembly in its “Reply to the Governor” (November 11, 1755) Reply to the Governor

Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.

Benjamin Franklin1706–1790