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Quote by James Fitzjames Stephen

“To try to regulate the internal affairs of a family, the relations of love or friendship, or many other things of the same sort, by law or by the coercion of public opinion, is like trying to pull an eyelash out of a man's eye with a pair of tongs. They may put out the eye, but they will never get hold of the eyelash”

Quote by James Fitzjames Stephen

Work

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

This book delves into the origins and evolution of the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity, tracing their historical development and their impact on society. It analyzes the philosophical underpinnings of these concepts and discusses their application in various contexts, including politics, economics, and social movements. more

Author

James Fitzjames Stephen
James Fitzjames Stephen

James Fitzjames Stephen, born on March 3, 1829, and died on March 11, 1894, was a prominent British judge known for his contributions to the legal field. more

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“The result of cutting [political power] up into little bits is simply that the man who can sweep the greatest number into one heap will govern the rest... In a pure democracy the ruling men will be the wirepullers and their friends; but they will no more be on an equality with the voters than soldiers of Ministers of State are on an equality with the subjects of monarchy.”

“The cry for freedom is a sign of suppression. It will not cease to ring as long as man feels himself captive. As diverse as the cries for freedom may be, basically they all express one and the same thing: The intolerability of the rigidity of the organism and of the machine-like institutions which create a sharp conflict with the natural feelings for life. Not until there is a social order in which all cries for freedom subside will man have overcome his biological and social crippling, will he have attained genuine freedom.”

“No man-made law ever, no matter whether derived from the past or projected onto a distant, unforeseeable future, can or should ever be empowered to claim that it is greater than the Natural Law from which it stems and to which it must inevitably return in the eternal rhythm of creation and decline of all things natural.”