WIST Quotations

Hugo, Victor -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 19:03:04 +0000

When dictatorship is a fact, revolution becomes a right.

[Quand la dictature est un fait, la révolution devient un droit.]

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French writer
(Attributed)

While in keeping with his opposition to the regime of Napoleon III, I have been unable to find any primary source or citation in English or French for this quotation (that Time Magazine (1957-06-03) used the quote doesn't really count).

Berry, Wendell -- Essay (2000), “The Total Economy,” Citizenship Papers (2003)

Dave — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 17:27:12 +0000

The folly at the root of this foolish economy began with the idea that a corporation should be regarded, legally, as “a person.” But the limitless destructiveness of this economy comes about precisely because a corporation is not a person. A corporation, essentially, is a pile of money to which a number of persons have sold their moral allegiance. Unlike a person, a corporation does not age. It does not arrive, as most persons finally do, at a realization of the shortness and smallness of human lives; it does not come to see the future as the lifetime of the children and grandchildren of anybody in particular.

Wendell Berry (b. 1934) American farmer, educator, poet, conservationist
Essay (2000), “The Total Economy,” Citizenship Papers (2003)
(Source)

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1903-09-07), “The Square Deal,” Labor Day, New York State Agricultural Association, New York State Fair, Syracuse

Dave — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 19:50:33 +0000

We must keep ever in mind that a republic such as ours can exist only by virtue of the orderly liberty which comes through the equal domination of the law over all men alike, and through its administration in such resolute and fearless fashion as shall teach all that no man is above it and no man below it.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Speech (1903-09-07), “The Square Deal,” Labor Day, New York State Agricultural Association, New York State Fair, Syracuse
(Source)

Hamilton, Alexander -- Essay (1775-02-23), “The Farmer Refuted”

Dave — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 17:30:55 +0000

The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the Divinity itself, and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power.

Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804) American statesman, author
Essay (1775-02-23), “The Farmer Refuted”
(Source)

Lincoln, Abraham -- Speech (1838-01-27), Young Men’s Lyceum, Springfield, Illinois

Dave — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 01:36:34 +0000

I know the American People are much attached to their Government; — I know they would suffer much for its sake; — I know they would endure evils long and patiently, before they would ever think of exchanging it for another. Yet, notwithstanding all this, if the laws be continually despised and disregarded, if their rights to be secure in their persons and property, are held by no better tenure than the caprice of a mob, the alienation of their affections from the Government is the natural consequence; and to that, sooner or later, it must come.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
Speech (1838-01-27), Young Men’s Lyceum, Springfield, Illinois
(Source)

Boucher, Anthony -- “The Barrier,” Astounding Science-Fiction, Vol. 30, No. 1 (1942-09)

Dave — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 18:40:03 +0000

Man has always dreamed of power. But damn it, man has always dreamed of love, too, and of the rights of his fellow man. The only power worthy of man is the power of all mankind struggling together toward a goal of unobtainable perfection.

Anthony Boucher (1911-1968) American author, critic, and editor [pseud. of William White; also H. H. Holmes and Herman W. Mudgett]
“The Barrier,” Astounding Science-Fiction, Vol. 30, No. 1 (1942-09)
(Source)

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- Epistulae ad Atticum [Letters to Atticus], Book 1, Letter 18, sec. 6 (1.18.6) (60 BC) [tr. Shuckburgh (1900)]

Dave — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 17:21:01 +0000

The others you know without my telling you. They are such fools that they seem to expect that, though the Republic is lost, their fish-ponds will be safe.

[Ceteros iam nosti; qui ita sunt stulti, ut amissa re publica piscinas suas fore salvas sperare videantur.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
Epistulae ad Atticum [Letters to Atticus], Book 1, Letter 18, sec. 6 (1.18.6) (60 BC) [tr. Shuckburgh (1900)]
(Source)

(Source (Latin)). Alternate translation:

The others you know well enough -- fools who seem to hope that their fish-ponds may be saved, though the country go to rack and ruin.
[tr. Winstedt (1912)]

As for the rest of the Optimates, you know them. They are so stupid as to suppose that their own fishponds can be unharmed even though the constitution go to pot.
[tr. McKinlay (1926), # 13]

The others you know. They seem fools enough to expect to keep their fish-ponds after losing constitutional freedom.
[tr. Shackleton Bailey (1968)]

Jacobs, Jane -- “No Virtue in Meek Conformity” (1952)

Dave — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 19:47:13 +0000

The other threat to the security of our tradition, I believe, lies at home. It is the current fear of radical ideas and of people who propound them. I do not agree with extremists of either the left or the right, but I think they should be allowed to speak and to publish, both because they themselves have, and ought to have, rights, and once their rights are gone, the rights of the rest of us are hardly safe.

Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) American-Canadian journalist, author, urban theorist, activist
“No Virtue in Meek Conformity” (1952)
(Source)

Foreword to her response to a State Department Loyalty Security Board interrogatory (1952-03-25). Reprinted in Vital Little Plans (2016).

Jacobs, Jane -- “No Virtue in Meek Conformity” (1952)

Dave — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 19:39:24 +0000

I was brought up to believe that there is no virtue in conforming meekly to the dominant opinion of the moment. I was encouraged to believe that simple conformity results in stagnation for a society, and that American progress has been largely owing to the opportunity for experimentation, the leeway given initiative, and to a gusto and a freedom for chewing over odd ideas. I was taught that the American’s right to be a free individual, not at the mercy of the state, was hard-won and that its price was eternal vigilance, and that I too would have to be vigilant. I was made to feel that it would be a disgrace to me, as an individual, if I should not value or should give up rights that were dearly bought.

Mencken, H. L. -- A Little Book in C Major, ch. 3, § 16 (1916)

Dave — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 16:43:52 +0000

No form of liberty is worth a darn which doesn’t give us the right to do wrong now and then.

H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
A Little Book in C Major, ch. 3, § 16 (1916)
(Source)

Banneker, Benjamin -- Letter (1791-08-19) to Thomas Jefferson

Dave — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:11:32 +0000

This Sir, was a time in which you clearly saw into the injustice of a State of Slavery, and in which you had just apprehensions of the horrors of its condition, it was now Sir, that your abhorrence thereof was so excited, that you publickly held forth this true and invaluable doctrine, which is worthy to be recorded and remember’d in all Succeeding ages. “We hold these truths to be Self evident, that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happyness.”

Here Sir, was a time in which your tender feelings for your selves had engaged you thus to declare, you were then impressed with proper ideas of the great valuation of liberty, and the free possession of those blessings to which you were entitled by nature; but Sir how pitiable is it to reflect, that altho you were so fully convinced of the benevolence of the Father of mankind, and of his equal and impartial distribution of those rights and privileges which he had conferred upon them, that you should at the Same time counteract his mercies, in detaining by fraud and violence so numerous a part of my brethren under groaning captivity and cruel oppression, that you should at the Same time be found guilty of that most criminal act, which you professedly detested in others, with respect to yourselves.

Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806) American naturalist, surveyor, almanac author, mathematician
Letter (1791-08-19) to Thomas Jefferson
(Source)

See Jefferson.

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- De Re Publica [On the Republic, On the Commonwealth], Book 3, ch. 15 / sec. 24 (3.24) [Philus] (54-51 BC) [tr. Yonge (1853), ch. 12]

Dave — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 19:17:40 +0000

But justice commands us to have mercy upon all men, to consult the interests of the whole human race, to give to every one his due, and injure no sacred, public, or foreign rights, and to forbear touching what does not belong to us.

[Iustitia autem praecipit parcere omnibus, consulere generi hominum, suum cuique reddere, sacra, publica, aliena non tangere.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
De Re Publica [On the Republic, On the Commonwealth], Book 3, ch. 15 / sec. 24 (3.24) [Philus] (54-51 BC) [tr. Yonge (1853), ch. 12]
(Source)

Contrasting the dictates of justice, vs the wisdom/prudence of conquest. Earlier sources arrange the fragments to make this ch. 12, as noted. (Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

But justice orders us to spare all, to consult the welfare of mankind, to give to every one his own, and to abstain from every thing that is sacred, every thing that is public, every thing which is not our own.
[tr. Featherstonhaugh (1829), ch. 12]

But justice commands us to have mercy upon all men, to consult the interests of the whole human race, to give to every one his due, and injure no sacred, public, or foreign rights, and to forbear touching what does not belong to us.
[tr. Barham (1841), ch. 12]

Justice, on the other hand, instructs us to spare all men, to consider the interests of the whole human race, to give everyone his due, and not to touch the sacred or public property, or that which belongs to others.
[tr. Keyes (1928)]

Justice, on the other hand, teaches you to spare all men, to consider the interests of the human race, to render to each his own, and not to tamper with that which is sacred, that which is public, and that which belongs to another. [tr. Sabine/Smith (1929)]

Justice, on the other hand, teaches us to spare all men, take thought for the interests of mankind, give everyone his due, and not lay hands on the things belonging to the gods, the state, or somebody else.
[tr. Rudd (1998)]

Justice instructs us to spare everyone, to look after the interests of the human race, to render to each his own, to keep hands off things that are sacred or public or belong to someone else.
[tr. Zetzel (1999), ch. 24b]

But justice instructs [us] to spare everyone, to take care of the human race, to render to each his own, not to touch sacred things, public things, another's things.
[tr. Fott (2014)]

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Interview, Washington Post (14 Nov 1880)

Dave — Wed, 13 Jul 2022 19:20:52 +0000

After all, the true civilization is where every man gives to every other, every right that he claims for himself.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Interview, Washington Post (14 Nov 1880)
(Source)

Reprinted in The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 8 "Interviews" (1900).

Carlin, George -- Show (2008-03-01), It’s Bad for Ya, Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa, California (HBO)

Dave — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 21:08:01 +0000

Folks, I hate to spoil your fun, but — there’s no such thing as rights. Okay? They’re imaginary. We made ’em up. […] Now, if you think you do have rights, one last assignment for you. Next time you’re at the computer, get on the Internet, go to Wikipedia. When you get to Wikipedia, in the search field for Wikipedia I want you to type in “Japanese-American 1942,” and you’ll find all about your precious fucking rights, okay? […] Just when these American citizens needed their rights the most, their government took ’em away. And rights aren’t “rights” if someone can take ’em away — they’re privileges. That’s all we’ve ever had in this country is a Bill of Temporary Privileges. And if you read the news, even badly, you know that every year the list gets shorter and shorter and shorter.

George Carlin (1937-2008) American comedian
Show (2008-03-01), It’s Bad for Ya, Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa, California (HBO)
(Source)

Snyder, Timothy -- Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning, “Conclusion: Our World” (2015)

Dave — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 14:16:22 +0000

When states are absent, rights — by any definition — are impossible to sustain. States are not structures to be taken for granted, exploited, or discarded, but are fruits of long and quiet effort.

Timothy Snyder (b. 1969) American historian, author
Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning, “Conclusion: Our World” (2015)
(Source)

Abrams, Stacey -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 15:22:12 +0000

You don’t get the power you ask for, you get the power you take.

Stacey Abrams (b. 1973) American politician, lawyer, activist
(Attributed)

See Baldwin.

Phillips, Wendell -- “Mobs and Education,” Speech, Twenty-Eighth Congregational Society, Boston (16 Dec 1860)

Dave — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 17:25:39 +0000

The time to assert rights is when they are denied; the men to assert them are those to whom they are denied. The community which dares not protect its humblest and most hated member in the free utterance of his opinions, no matter how false or hateful, is only a gang of slaves.

Wendell Phillips (1811-1884) American abolitionist, orator, social activist
“Mobs and Education,” Speech, Twenty-Eighth Congregational Society, Boston (16 Dec 1860)
(Source)

As reported in the Liberator (21 Dec 1860).

Note: There is a synthetic quotation frequently attributed to Phillips that is a actually combination of this one, and these three others:

No matter whose lips that would speak, they must be free and ungagged. The community which dares not protect its humblest and most hated member in the free utterance of his opinions, no matter how false or hateful, is only a gang of slaves. If there is anything in the universe that can’t stand discussion, let it crack.

While Phillips often reused rhetorical elements (as most orators do), this particular combination appears to be combination not actually found in his speeches or writing.

Franklin, Benjamin -- Memorandum on Colonial Taxation

Dave — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 00:23:32 +0000

Everything one has a right to do is not best to be done.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Memorandum on Colonial Taxation
(Source)

Kennedy, John F. -- Speech, Liberal Party Nomination, New York (14 Sep 1960)

Dave — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 18:41:43 +0000

I believe in human dignity as the source of national purpose, in human liberty as the source of national action, and the human heart as the source of national compassion, and in the human mind as the source of our invention and our ideas. It is, I believe, this faith in our fellow citizens as individuals and as people that lies at the heart of the liberal faith, for liberalism is not so much a party creed or a set of fixed platform promises as it is an attitude of mind and heart, a faith in man’s ability through the experiences of his reason and judgment to increase for himself and his fellow men the amount of justice and freedom and brotherhood which all human life deserves.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) American politician, author, journalist, US President (1961–63)
Speech, Liberal Party Nomination, New York (14 Sep 1960)
(Source)

Jay, John -- Letter to J. C. Dongan (27 Feb 1792)

Dave — Wed, 07 Oct 2020 15:01:43 +0000

Every man of every color and description has a natural right to freedom.

John Jay (1745-1829) American statesman, diplomat, abolitionist, politician, Chief Justice (1789-1795)
Letter to J. C. Dongan (27 Feb 1792)
(Source)

Acton, John Dalberg (Lord) -- “The Political System of the Popes,” The Rambler, n.s. 2 (1860-01)

Dave — Thu, 28 May 2020 20:24:42 +0000

Liberty is not the power of doing what we like, but the right to do what we ought.

John Dalberg, Lord Acton (1834-1902) British historian, politician, writer
“The Political System of the Popes,” The Rambler, n.s. 2 (1860-01)

Bible, Vol. 1. Old Testament -- Book 19. Psalms 18: 2ff (Ps 18:2-4) [NRSV (2021 ed.)]

Dave — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 18:12:26 +0000

How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
Give justice to the weak and the orphan;
maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.
Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

The Bible (The Old Testament) (14th - 2nd C BC) Judeo-Christian sacred scripture [Tanakh, Hebrew Bible], incl. the Apocrypha (Deuterocanonicals)
Book 19. Psalms 18: 2ff (Ps 18:2-4) [NRSV (2021 ed.)]
(Source)

Alternate translations:

How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.
Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.
Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.
[KJV (1611)]

No more mockery of justice,
no more favouring the wicked! Pause
Let the weak and the orphan have justice,
be fair to the wretched and destitute;
rescue the weak and needy,
save them from the clutches of the wicked!
[JB (1966)]

You must stop judging unjustly;
you must no longer be partial to the wicked!
Defend the rights of the poor and the orphans;
be fair to the needy and the helpless.
Rescue them from the power of evil people.
[GNT (1976)]

How much longer will you give unjust judgements and uphold the prestige of the wicked? Pause
Let the weak and the orphan have justice, be fair to the wretched and the destitute.
Rescue the weak and the needy, save them from the clutches of the wicked.
[NJB (1985)]

How long will you judge unjustly
by granting favor to the wicked? Selah
Give justice to the lowly and the orphan;
maintain the right of the poor and the destitute!
Rescue the lowly and the needy.
Deliver them from the power of the wicked!
[CEB (2011)]

How long will you judge perversely,
showing favor to the wicked? Selah.
Judge the wretched and the orphan,
vindicate the lowly and the poor,
rescue the wretched and the needy;
save them from the hand of the wicked.
[RJPS (2023 ed.)]

Bible, Vol. 1. Old Testament -- Book 20. Proverbs 31: 8ff (Prov 31:8-9) [tr. CEB (2011)]

Dave — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 02:09:07 +0000

Speak out on behalf of the voiceless,
and for the rights of all who are vulnerable.
Speak out in order to judge with righteousness
and to defend the needy and the poor.

The Bible (The Old Testament) (14th - 2nd C BC) Judeo-Christian sacred scripture [Tanakh, Hebrew Bible], incl. the Apocrypha (Deuterocanonicals)
Book 20. Proverbs 31: 8ff (Prov 31:8-9) [tr. CEB (2011)]
(Source)

From the sayings of King Lemuel of Massa, given by his mother. Alternate translations:

Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.
[KJV (1611)]

Speak, yourself, on behalf of the dumb, on behalf of all the unwanted; speak, yourself, pronounce a just verdict, uphold the rights of the poor, of the needy.
[JB (1966)]

Speak up for people who cannot speak for themselves. Protect the rights of all who are helpless. Speak for them and be a righteous judge. Protect the rights of the poor and needy.
[GNT (1976)]

Make your views heard, on behalf of the dumb, on behalf of all the unwanted; make your views heard, pronounce an upright verdict, defend the cause of the poor and the wretched.
[NJB (1985)]

Speak out for those who cannot speak,
for the rights of all the destitute.
Speak out; judge righteously;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.
[NRSV (2021 ed.)]

Speak up for the dumb,
For the rights of all the unfortunate.
Speak up, judge righteously,
Champion the poor and the needy.
[RJPS (2023 ed.)]

Godwin, William -- Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, Book 2, ch. 5 (1793)

Dave — Mon, 08 Jan 2018 23:01:17 +0000

Every man has a certain sphere of discretion, which he has a right to expect shall not be infringed by his neighbors. This right flows from the very nature of man. First, all men are fallible: no man can be justified in setting up his judgment as a standard for others. We have no infallible judge of controversies; each man in his own apprehension is right in his decisions; and we can find no satisfactory mode of adjusting their jarring pretensions. If every one be desirous of imposing his sense upon others, it will at last come to be a controversy, not of reason, but of force.

William Godwin (1756-1836) English journalist, political philosopher, novelist
Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, Book 2, ch. 5 (1793)
(Source)

~Other -- Magna Carta, Clause 40 (1215)

Dave — Fri, 07 Jul 2017 23:41:37 +0000

To no man will we sell, or deny, or delay, right or justice.

[Nulli vendemus, nulli negabimus, aut differimus rectum aut justiciam.]

(Other Authors and Sources)
Magna Carta, Clause 40 (1215)

Alt. trans.:

"To no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay, right or justice."
"To none will we sell, to none will we deny, to none will we delay right or justice."

Tawney, R. H. -- The Acquisitive Century, ch. 3 “The Acquisitive Society” (1920)

Dave — Fri, 06 Jan 2017 02:42:00 +0000

During the greater part of the nineteenth century the significance of the opposition between the two principles of individual rights and social functions was masked by the doctrine of the inevitable harmony between private interests and public good. Competition, it was argued, was an effective substitute for honesty. Today … few now would profess adherence to the compound of economic optimism and moral bankruptcy which led a nineteenth century economist to say: “Greed is held in check by greed, and the desire for gain sets limits to itself.”

R. H. Tawney (1880-1962) English writer, economist, historian, social critic [Richard Henry Tawney]
The Acquisitive Century, ch. 3 “The Acquisitive Society” (1920)
(Source)

Tawney, R. H. -- The Acquisitive Century, ch. 2 “Rights and Functions” (1920)

Dave — Fri, 30 Dec 2016 01:39:01 +0000

The conception of men as united to each other, and of all mankind as united to God, by mutual obligations arising from their relation to a common end, which vaguely conceived and imperfectly realized, had been the keystone holding together the social fabric, ceased to be impressed upon men’s minds, when Church and State withdrew from the centre of social life to its circumference. What remained … was private rights and private interests, the materials of a society rather than a society itself.

R. H. Tawney (1880-1962) English writer, economist, historian, social critic [Richard Henry Tawney]
The Acquisitive Century, ch. 2 “Rights and Functions” (1920)

King, Martin Luther -- Speech (1963-08-28), “I Have a Dream,” Washington, D. C.

Dave — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 17:49:43 +0000

In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.”

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
Speech (1963-08-28), “I Have a Dream,” Washington, D. C.
(Source)

See Jefferson.

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1902-11-11), State Chamber of Commerce Banquet, New York City

Dave — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 17:50:10 +0000

The first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his weight; that he shall not be a mere passenger, but shall do his share in the work that each generation of us finds ready to hand; and, furthermore, that in doing his work he shall show, not only the capacity for sturdy self-help, but also self-respecting regard for the rights of others.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Speech (1902-11-11), State Chamber of Commerce Banquet, New York City
(Source)

This first part of this passage was quoted by Ronald Reagan at a fundraising dinner for Sen. Mack Mattingly in Atlanta (1985-06-05), discussing reform measures to close up tax loopholes.

Gervais, Ricky -- Twitter (5 Feb 2014)

Dave — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 17:15:12 +0000

Same sex marriage isn’t gay privilege, it’s equal rights. Privilege would be something like gay people not paying taxes. Like churches don’t.

Ricky Gervais (b. 1961) English comedian, actor, director, writer
Twitter (5 Feb 2014)
(Source)

Eisenhower, Dwight David -- Speech, NATO Council (26 Nov 1951)

Dave — Tue, 29 Mar 2016 14:03:27 +0000

Because, therefore, we are defending a way of life, we must be respectful of that way of life as we proceed to the solution of our problem. We must not violate its principles and its precepts, and we must not destroy from within what we are trying to defend from without.

Dwight David Eisenhower (1890-1969) American general, US President (1953-61)
Speech, NATO Council (26 Nov 1951)

Marat, Jean-Paul -- Letter to Camille Desmoulins (24 Jun 1790)

Dave — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 14:01:52 +0000

Of what use is political liberty to those who have no bread?

Jean-Paul Marat (1743-1793) French physician, political theorist, scientist, journalist
Letter to Camille Desmoulins (24 Jun 1790)

Goldwater, Barry -- Interview, Los Angeles Times (1994)

Dave — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 16:06:20 +0000

Today’s so-called “conservatives” don’t even know what the word means. They think I’ve turned liberal because I believe a woman has a right to an abortion. That’s a decision that’s up to the pregnant woman, not up to the pope or some do-gooders or the Religious Right. It’s not a conservative issue at all.

Barry Goldwater (1909-1998) American politician
Interview, Los Angeles Times (1994)

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Lecture (1910-06-07), “Biological Analogies in History,” Romanes Lecture, Oxford University

Dave — Wed, 26 Aug 2015 14:24:06 +0000

Privilege should not be tolerated because it is to the advantage of a minority; nor yet because it is to the advantage of a majority. No doctrinaire theories of vested rights or freedom of contract can stand in the way of our cutting out abuses from the body politic.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Lecture (1910-06-07), “Biological Analogies in History,” Romanes Lecture, Oxford University
(Source)

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Lecture (1910-06-07), “Biological Analogies in History,” Romanes Lecture, Oxford University

Dave — Wed, 19 Aug 2015 12:43:23 +0000

True liberty shows itself to best advantage in protecting the rights of others, and especially of minorities.

Burke, Edmund -- Speech, Buckinghamshire (1784)

Dave — Wed, 29 Jul 2015 15:19:42 +0000

The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion.

Edmund Burke (1729-1797) Anglo-Irish statesman, orator, philosopher
Speech, Buckinghamshire (1784)

Adams, Abigail -- Letter to John Adams (31 Mar 1776)

Dave — Fri, 22 May 2015 15:08:09 +0000

And by the way, in the the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation.

Abigail Adams (1744-1818) American correspondent, First Lady (1797-1801)
Letter to John Adams (31 Mar 1776)

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- Speech, United Nations (27 Mar 1958)

Dave — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 11:52:03 +0000

Where after all do universal human rights begin? In small places, closes to home — so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any map of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person: The neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
Speech, United Nations (27 Mar 1958)

Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1787-12-20) to James Madison

Dave — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 13:37:30 +0000

A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Letter (1787-12-20) to James Madison
(Source)

Kennedy, John F. -- Report to the American People on Civil Rights (11 Jun 1963)

Dave — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 17:56:03 +0000

This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) American politician, author, journalist, US President (1961–63)
Report to the American People on Civil Rights (11 Jun 1963)

Obama, Barack -- Speech (2004-07-26) Keynote, Democratic National Convention, Boston

Dave — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 15:56:10 +0000

Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation — not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy. Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” That is the true genius of America — a faith in simple dreams, an insistence on small miracles.

Barack Obama (b. 1961) American politician, US President (2009-2017)
Speech (2004-07-26) Keynote, Democratic National Convention, Boston
(Source)

See Jefferson.

Lincoln, Abraham -- Speech (1857-06-26), Springfield, Illinois

Dave — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 13:35:00 +0000

I think the authors of that notable instrument intended to include all men, but they did not mean to declare all men equal in all respects. They did not mean to say all men were equal in color, size, intellect, moral development, or social capacity. They defined with tolerable distinctness in what they did consider all men created equal — equal in “certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” This they said, and this they meant. They did not mean to assert the obvious untruth that all were then actually enjoying that equality, or yet that they were about to confer it immediately upon them. In fact, they had no power to confer such a boon. They meant simply to declare the right, so that the enforcement of it might follow as fast as circumstances should permit. They meant to set up a standard maxim for free society which should be familiar to all, constantly looked to, constantly labored for, and even, though never perfectly attained, constantly approximated, and thereby constantly spreading and deepening its influence, and augmenting the happiness and value of life to all people, of all colors, everywhere.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
Speech (1857-06-26), Springfield, Illinois
(Source)

On the Declaration of Independence versus the Supreme Court's recent Dred Scott decision. See Jefferson.

King, Martin Luther -- Emancipation Proclamation Centennial Address, New York City (12 Sep 1962)

Dave — Wed, 12 Nov 2014 14:02:11 +0000

If our nation had done nothing more in its whole history than to create just two documents, its contribution to civilization would be imperishable. The first of these documents is the Declaration of Independence and the other is that which we are here to honor tonight, the Emancipation Proclamation. All tyrants, past, present and future, are powerless to bury the truths in these declarations, no matter how extensive their legions, how vast their power and how malignant their evil.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
Emancipation Proclamation Centennial Address, New York City (12 Sep 1962)
(Source)

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Lecture (1873-12) “Individuality,” Chicago Free Religious Society

Dave — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 12:16:01 +0000

The Declaration of Independence announces the sublime truth, that all power comes from the people. This was a denial, and the first denial of a nation, of the infamous dogma that God confers the right upon one man to govern others. It was the first grand assertion of the dignity of the human race. It declared the governed to be the source of power, and in fact denied the authority of any and all gods. Through the ages of slavery — through the weary centuries of the lash and chain, God was the acknowledged ruler of the world. To enthrone man, was to dethrone God.
To Paine, Jefferson, and Franklin, are we indebted, more than to all others, for a human government, and for a Constitution in which no God is recognized superior to the legally expressed will of the people.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Lecture (1873-12) “Individuality,” Chicago Free Religious Society
(Source)

Full title "Arraignment of the Church and a Plea for Individuality." Collected in The Gods and Other Lectures (1876)

Coolidge, Calvin -- “Speech on the Occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence” (5 Jul 1926)

Dave — Wed, 08 Oct 2014 09:17:27 +0000

In its main features the Declaration of Independence is a great spiritual document. It is a declaration not of material but of spiritual conceptions. Equality, liberty, popular sovereignty, the rights of man — these are not elements which we can see and touch. They are ideals. They have their source and their roots in the religious convictions. They belong to the unseen world. Unless the faith of the American people in these religious convictions is to endure, the principles of our Declaration will perish. We can not continue to enjoy the result if we neglect and abandon the cause.

Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) American lawyer, politician, US President (1925-29)
“Speech on the Occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence” (5 Jul 1926)
(Source)

Coolidge, Calvin -- “Speech on the Occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence” (5 Jul 1926)

Dave — Wed, 01 Oct 2014 12:49:30 +0000

Great ideas do not burst upon the world unannounced. They are reached by a gradual development over a length of time usually proportionate to their importance. This is especially true of the principles laid down in the Declaration of Independence. Three very definite propositions were set out in its preamble regarding the nature of mankind and therefore of government. These were the doctrine that all men are created equal, that they are endowed with certain inalienable rights, and that therefore the source of the just powers of government must be derived from the consent of the governed. If no one is to be accounted as born into a superior station, if there is to be no ruling class, and if all possess rights which can neither be bartered away nor taken from them by any earthly power, it follows as a matter of course that the practical authority of the Government has to rest on the consent of the governed. While these principles were not altogether new in political action, and were very far from new in political speculation, they had never been assembled before and declared in such a combination.

Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) American lawyer, politician, US President (1925-29)
“Speech on the Occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence” (5 Jul 1926)
(Source)

Coolidge, Calvin -- “At the Home of Daniel Webster,” speech (1916-07-04)

Dave — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 13:08:42 +0000

The doctrine of the Declaration of Independence, predicated upon the glory of man, and the corresponding duty of society, is that the rights of citizens are to be protected with every power and resource of the State, and a government that does any less is false to the teachings of that great document, of the name American.

Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) American lawyer, politician, US President (1925-29)
“At the Home of Daniel Webster,” speech (1916-07-04)
(Source)

This and other lines from this speech were reused in his speech "Equal Rights" in 1920.

Churchill, Winston -- “The Sinews of Peace,” speech, Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri (5 Mar 1946)

Dave — Wed, 17 Sep 2014 14:04:56 +0000

We must never cease to proclaim in fearless tones the great principles of freedom and the rights of man which are the joint inheritance of the English-speaking world and which through Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, the Habeas Corpus, trial by jury, and the English common law find their most famous expression in the American Declaration of Independence.

Winston Churchill (1874-1965) British statesman and author
“The Sinews of Peace,” speech, Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri (5 Mar 1946)

Hayden, Teresa Nielsen -- Making Light, “Commonplaces”

Dave — Fri, 05 Sep 2014 16:01:23 +0000

If there is no willingness to use force to defend civil society, it’s civil society that goes away, not force.

Teresa Nielsen Hayden (b. 1956) American editor, writer, essayist
Making Light, “Commonplaces”
(Source)

Coolidge, Calvin -- Speech (1916-07-04), Daniel Webster home, Marshfield, Massachusetts

Dave — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 18:15:39 +0000

July 4, 1776 was a day of history in its high and true significance. Not because the underlying principles set out in the Declaration of Independence were new; they are older than the Christian religion, or Greek philosophy, nor was it because history is made by proclamation of declaration; history is made only by action. But it was an historic day because the representatives of three millions of people vocalized Concord, and Lexington, and Bunker Hill, which gave notice to the world that they proposed to establish an independent nation on the theory that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The wonder and glory of the American people is not the ringing Declaration of that day, but the action then already begun, and in the process of being carried out, in spite of every obstacle that war could interpose, making the theory of freedom and equality a reality.

Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) American lawyer, politician, US President (1925-29)
Speech (1916-07-04), Daniel Webster home, Marshfield, Massachusetts
(Source)

See Jefferson.

Kennedy, John F. -- Speech, Philadelphia (31 Oct 1960)

Dave — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 12:35:00 +0000

I believe in an America where the rights that I have described are enjoyed by all, regardless of their race or their creed or their national origin — where every citizen is free to think and speak as he pleases and write and worship as he pleases — and where every citizen is free to vote as he pleases, without instructions from anyone, his employer, the union leader or his clergyman.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) American politician, author, journalist, US President (1961–63)
Speech, Philadelphia (31 Oct 1960)
(Source)

Lincoln, Abraham -- Speech (1858-07-10), Chicago, Illinois

Dave — Fri, 09 Aug 2013 13:33:51 +0000

I believe each individual is naturally entitled to do as he pleases with himself and the fruit of his labor, so far as it in no wise interferes with any other man’s rights.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
Speech (1858-07-10), Chicago, Illinois
(Source)

Sutherland, George -- Associated Press v. National Labor Relations Board, 301 U.S. 141 (1938) [Dissent]

Dave — Thu, 30 May 2013 12:31:47 +0000

Do the people of this land — in the providence of God, favored, as they sometimes boast, above all others in the plenitude of their liberties — desire to preserve those so carefully protected by the First Amendment: liberty of religious worship, freedom of speech and of the press, and the right as freemen peaceably to assemble and petition their government for a redress of grievances? If so, let them withstand all beginnings of encroachment. For the saddest epitaph which can be carved in memory of a vanished liberty is that it was lost because its possessors failed to stretch forth a saving hand while yet there was time.

George Sutherland (1862-1942) Anglo-American jurist, Supreme Court Justice (1922-1938)
Associated Press v. National Labor Relations Board, 301 U.S. 141 (1938) [Dissent]

Jefferson, Thomas -- Speech (1801-03-14), Inaugural Address, Washington, D. C.

Dave — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:59:39 +0000

All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Speech (1801-03-14), Inaugural Address, Washington, D. C.
(Source)

Jefferson, Thomas -- Document (1776-07-02), “Declaration of Independence”

Dave — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 14:38:21 +0000

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable Rights; that among these, are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness; that to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Document (1776-07-02), “Declaration of Independence”
(Source)

As modified and approved by the Continental Congress. Compare to Jefferson's original draft.

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1910-08-31), “The New Nationalism,” John Brown Memorial Park dedication, Osawatomie, Kansas

Dave — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 12:55:46 +0000

For every special interest is entitled to justice, but not one is entitled to a vote in Congress, to a voice on the bench, or to representation in any public office. The Constitution guarantees protections to property, and we must make that promise good. But it does not give the right of suffrage to any corporation.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Speech (1910-08-31), “The New Nationalism,” John Brown Memorial Park dedication, Osawatomie, Kansas
(Source)

Huxley, Aldous -- Essay (1936), “Words and Behaviour,” The Olive Tree, and Other Essays

Dave — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 15:10:47 +0000

All propaganda directed against an opposing group has but one aim: to substitute diabolical abstractions for concrete persons. The propagandist’s purpose is to make one set of people forget that certain other sets of people are human. By robbing them of their personality, he puts them outside the pale of moral obligation. Mere symbols can have no rights — particularly when that of which they are symbolical is, by definition, evil.

Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) English novelist, essayist and critic
Essay (1936), “Words and Behaviour,” The Olive Tree, and Other Essays
(Source)

Brandeis, Louis -- Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438 (1928) [Dissent]

Dave — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 13:19:24 +0000

The makers of our Constitution undertook to secure conditions favorable to the pursuit of happiness. They recognized the significance of man’s spiritual nature, of his feelings and of his intellect. They knew that only a part of the pain, pleasure and satisfactions of life are to be found in material things. They sought to protect Americans in their beliefs, their thoughts, their emotions and their sensations. They conferred, as against the government, the right to be let alone — the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men.

Louis Brandeis (1856-1941) American lawyer, activist, Supreme Court Justice (1916-39)
Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438 (1928) [Dissent]
(Source)

Jefferson, Thomas -- Document (1776-06), “Declaration of Independence”

Dave — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 02:19:18 +0000

We hold these truths to be sacred & undeniable; that all men are created equal & independant, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent & inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these ends, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government shall become destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, & to institute new government, laying it’s foundation on such principles & organising it’s powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety & happiness.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Document (1776-06), “Declaration of Independence”
(Source)

Compare to the final version, as modified and adopted by the Continental Congress.

Kennedy, Anthony -- International Society for Krishna Consciousness v. Lee, 505 U.S. 672 (26 Jun 1992) [concurring[

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

The First Amendment is often inconvenient. But that is beside the point. Inconvenience does not absolve the government of its obligation to tolerate speech.

Anthony Kennedy (b. 1936) US Supreme Court Justice
International Society for Krishna Consciousness v. Lee, 505 U.S. 672 (26 Jun 1992) [concurring[
(Source)

Acton, John Dalberg (Lord) -- Speech (1877-02-28), “The History of Freedom in Antiquity,” Bridgenorth Institute

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 19:00:00 +0000

The most certain test by which we judge whether a country is really free is the amount of security enjoyed by minorities.

John Dalberg, Lord Acton (1834-1902) British historian, politician, writer
Speech (1877-02-28), “The History of Freedom in Antiquity,” Bridgenorth Institute

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Letter (1938-06-25) to Walter White, “Greeting to the NAACP,” NAACP Annual Conference, Columbus, Ohio

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

For it is evident that no democracy can long survive which does not accept as fundamental to its very existence the recognition of the rights of its minorities.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933–1945)
Letter (1938-06-25) to Walter White, “Greeting to the NAACP,” NAACP Annual Conference, Columbus, Ohio
(Source)

Curran, John Philpot -- Speech before Privy Council, Dublin (1790-07-10)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

It is the common fate of the indolent to see their rights become a prey to the active. The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt.

John Philpot Curran (1750-1817) Irish lawyer and politician
Speech before Privy Council, Dublin (1790-07-10)
(Source)

On the right of election of the Lord Mayor of Dublin. Commonly paraphrases:

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."
"The price of liberty is eternal vigilance."

More discussion (especially regarding attribution to Thomas Jefferson): Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty (Spurious Quotation) | Monticello.