Quotes about freedom
567 quotes from 261 people
Ambrose Bierce1842–1914The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)May we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion.
Dwight D. Eisenhower1890–1969Address at the Columbia University National Bicentennial Dinner, New York City. (31 May 1954)I am a lover of liberty. I will not and I cannot serve a party.
Erasmus1466–1536Spongia adversus aspergines Hutteni (1523), § 176, As quoted in Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam (1900) by Ephraim Emerton, p. 377Too little liberty brings stagnation, and too much brings chaos.
Bertrand Russell1872–1970Authority and the Individual (1949), p. 37Independence is for the very few; it is a privilege of the strong.
Friedrich Nietzsche1844–1900Beyond Good and Evil (1886), Chapter II, aphorism 29, tr. Walter KaufmannA day, an hour, of virtuous liberty
Is worth a whole eternity in bondage.
Joseph Addison1672–1719Cato, A Tragedy (1713)He who seeks freedom for anything but freedom’s self is made to be a slave.
Alexis de Tocqueville1805–1859The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856), p. 204We feel free because we lack the very language to articulate our unfreedom.
Slavoj Žižekborn 1949“Introduction: The Missing Ink”, in Welcome to the Desert of the Real!: Five Essays on September 11 and Related Dates (2002), p. 2Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people.
Nelson Mandela1918–2013Speech at the Chief Albert Luthuli Centenary celebrations, KwaDukuza, South Africa (25 April 1998)Privacy is not about something to hide. Privacy is about something to protect.
Edward Snowdenborn 1983Why Does Online Privacy Matter? NPR TED Radio Hour March 20, 2020What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.
Salman Rushdieborn 1947Imaginary Homelands p. 391 (1992)None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license.
John Milton1608–1674Tenure of Kings and Magistrates (1649)You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don’t ever count on having both at once.
Robert A. Heinlein1907–1988Time Enough for Love (1973)Power in defense of freedom is greater than power in behalf of tyranny and oppression.
Malcolm X1925–1965Malcolm X Speaks (1965), p. 158You know, there are two good things in life, freedom of thought and freedom of action.
