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Liberty Quotes

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Liberty Quotes

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

“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.”

“Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”

“Those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”

“I have sworn upon the altar of god.”

“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.”

“Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!”

“Whenever legislators endeavor to take away and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any further obedience.”

“Good intentions will always be pleaded, for every assumption of power; but they cannot justify it ... It is hardly too strong to say, that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intention, real or pretended.”

“For an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.”

“The right way is the greatest gratifier of human wishes ever come upon - when allowed to operate. It is as morally sound as the Golden Rule. It is the way of willing exchange, of common consent, of self-responsibility, of open opportunity. It respects the right of each to the product of his labor. It limits the police force to keeping the peace. It is the way of the free market, private property, limited government. On its banner is emblazoned Individual Liberty.”

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

“A wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicities.”

“Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual.”

“The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive.”

“I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it.”

“The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.”

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

“Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end.”

“Liberalism is a creation of the seventeenth century, fathered by British philosopher John Locke (1632-1704). For Locke, liberalism means limited government, the rule of law, due process, liberty, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, separation of church and state, and separation of government powers into branches that oversee each other's authority.”

“The Senate, compared to the House, is where things are supposed to slow down, by design, Founding Father design. The Founding Fathers were hell-bent to stop government action. The Constitution limited government. And that's why people like Obama and Democrats call it a charter of negative liberties because it limits government. It's an anti-government, pro-citizen document. And the founders wanted to make it hard.”

“I believe in the separation of powers. If a judge crosses the line between interpreting and making the law, he has crossed the line supporting his legitimate authority from the legislative branch's authority. Now, to me that's a very serious matter if we believe, as America's founders, did that the separation of powers - not just in theory or in textbook but in practice in the actual functioning of government - is the linchpin of limited government and liberty.”

“A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.”

“Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.”

“We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.”