Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty; it is a blessing that must be earned before it can be enjoyed.

Charles Caleb "C. C." Colton (1780-1832) English cleric, writer, aphorist

Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 2, § 178 (1822)
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Epitaph on Emma Goldman's gravestone in Forest Park, Illinois. Often attributed to her (even under the same book name).