Quotes about liberty
136 quotes from 75 people
John Stuart Mill1806–1873On Liberty (1859), Ch. III: Of Individuality, As One of the Elements of Well-BeingIn context
Bertrand Russell1872–1970Sceptical Essays (1928), Ch. 13: Freedom in SocietyLiberty is not merely a privilege to be conferred; it is a habit to be acquired.
David Lloyd George1863–1945Speech in the House of Commons (10 May 1928)
Simón Bolívar1783–1830Statement of 1829, as quoted in The Great Fear: The Reconquest of Latin America by Latin Americans (1963) by John Gerassi- David Lloyd George1863–1945International Liberal Conference (July 1928)
Ambrose Bierce1842–1914The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)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. 37A day, an hour, of virtuous liberty
Is worth a whole eternity in bondage.
Joseph Addison1672–1719Cato, A Tragedy (1713)The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield, and government to gain ground.
Thomas Jefferson1743–1826Letter to Edward Carrington, Paris (27 May 1788)Liberty is the right of every man to be honest, to think and to speak without hypocrisy.
José Martí1853–1895Martí: Thoughts/Pensamientos (1994)License they mean when they cry, Liberty!
For who loves that must first be wise and good.
John Milton1608–1674On the Detraction which followed upon my writing certain Treatises, reported in Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)- Thomas Jefferson1743–1826Summary View of the Rights of British America (1774); The Writings of Thomas Jefferson (19 Vols., 1905) edited by Andrew A. Lipscomb and Albert Ellery Bergh, Vol. 1, p. 211
Woodrow Wilson1856–1924Address on Latin American Policy before the Southern Commercial Congress Mobile, Alabama (27 October 1913)