Frederick Douglass on debate

No man can put a chain about the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other end fastened about his own neck.

Where there is seeming contentment with slavery, there is certain treachery to freedom.

To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker.

A great many of those who ‘debunk’ traditional…values have in the background values of their own which they believe to be immune from the debunking process.

C. S. Lewis1898–1963The Abolition of Man

I argue very well. Ask any of my remaining friends. I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don’t even invite me.

Dave Barryborn 1947

I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.

Margaret Thatcher1925–2013From an interview for Italian television (RAI) (10 March 1986)