WIST Quotations

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- Essay (1961-04), “What Has Happened to the American Dream?” Atlantic Monthly

Dave — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:05:08 +0000

Perhaps the older generation is often to blame with its cautious warning: “Take a job that will give you security, not adventure.” But I say to the young: “Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, and imaginatively; unless you can choose a challenge instead of a competence.”

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
Essay (1961-04), “What Has Happened to the American Dream?” Atlantic Monthly
(Source)

(Source (Alternate)).

Tocqueville, Alexis de -- Democracy in America, Part 2, ch. 14 (1835) [tr. Goldhammer (2004)]

Dave — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 23:02:27 +0000

I am quite prepared to concede that public peace is a great good, yet I do not want to forget that every nation that has ended in tyranny has come to that end by way of good order. It certainly does not follow from this that peoples should scorn public peace, but neither should they be satisfied with that and nothing more. A nation that asks nothing of government but the maintenance of order is already a slave in the depths of its heart; it is a slave of its well-being, ready for the man who will put it in chains.

[Je conviendrai sans peine que la paix publique est un grand bien; mais je ne veux pas oublier cependant que c’est à travers le bon ordre que tous les peuples sont arrivés à la tyrannie. Il ne s’ensuit pas assurément que les peuples doivent mépriser la paix publique; mais il ne faut pas qu’elle leur suffise. Une nation qui ne demande à son gouvernement que le maintien de l’ordre est déjà esclave au fond du cœur; elle est esclave de son bien-être, et l’homme qui doit l’enchaîner peut paraître.]

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) French writer, diplomat, politician
Democracy in America, Part 2, ch. 14 (1835) [tr. Goldhammer (2004)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Another translation:

I readily admit that public tranquility is a great good; but at the same time I cannot forget that all nations have been enslaved by being kept in good order. Certainly it is not to be inferred that nations ought to despise public tranquility; but that state ought not to content them. A nation which asks nothing of its government but the maintenance of order is already a slave at heart, -- the slave of its own well-being, awaiting but the hand that will bind it.
[tr. Reeve (1835)]

Hesse, Herman -- Steppenwolf, “Treatise of the Steppenwolf,” ch. 2 (1927) [tr Breighton (1929)]

Dave — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 14:55:51 +0000

Now the bourgeois treasures nothing more highly than the self (rudimentary as his may be). And so at the cost of intensity, he achieves his own preservation and security. His harvest is a quiet mind which he prefers to being possessed by God, as he does comfort to pleasure, convenience to liberty, and a pleasant temperature to that deathly inner consuming fire. The bourgeois is consequently by nature a creature of weak impulses; anxious, fearful of giving himself away and easy to rule. Therefore, he has substituted majority for power, law for force, and the polling booth for responsibility.

[Der Bürger nun schätzt nichts höher als das Ich (ein nur rudimentär entwickeltes Ich allerdings). Auf Kosten der Intensität also erreicht er Erhaltung und Sicherheit, statt Gottbesessenheit erntet er Gewissensruhe, statt Lust Behagen, statt Freiheit Bequemlichkeit, statt tödlicher Glut eine angenehme Temperatur. Der Bürger ist deshalb seinem Wesen nach ein Geschöpf von schwachem Lebensantrieb, ängstlich, jede Preisgabe seiner selbst fürchtend, leicht zu regieren. Er hat darum an Stelle der Macht die Majorität gesetzt, an Stelle der Gewalt das Gesetz, an Stelle der Verantwortung das Abstimmungsverfahren.]

Herman Hesse (1877-1962) German-born Swiss poet, novelist, painter
Steppenwolf, “Treatise of the Steppenwolf,” ch. 2 (1927) [tr Breighton (1929)]
(Source)

Usually paraphrased down to:

The bourgeois prefers comfort to pleasure, convenience to liberty, and a pleasant temperature to the deathly inner consuming fire.

(Source (German)). Other translation:

Now the bourgeois values nothing higher than the ego (an only rudimentarily developed ego, to be sure). Thus at the expense of intensity he achieves preservation and security; instead of divine possession he reaps peace of mind, instead of pleasure, comfort, instead of freedom, convenience, instead of deadly heat a pleasant temperature. The bourgeois is therefor by nature a creature of weak life impulse, anxious, fearful of every expenditure of himself, easy to rule. Therefore he has put the majority in the place of power, in the place of power the law, in the place of accountability the ballot box.
[tr. Wayne (2010)]

Ivins, Molly -- Bill of Wrongs, Introduction (2007) [with Lou Dubose]

Dave — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 16:09:37 +0000

This has happened before in our history — in fact, it’s a pretty predictable reaction to fear. We get so rattled by some big Scary Thing — communism or crime or drugs or illegal aliens or terrorism — something that scares us so much, we think we can make ourselves safer by giving up some of our freedom. Now, not only does that not hold a drop of water as a logical proposition but it has consistently proved to be an illusion as a practical matter. Empirically, when you make yourself less free, you are not safe, you are just less free.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Bill of Wrongs, Introduction (2007) [with Lou Dubose]
(Source)

See Franklin (1755).

Montesquieu -- Spirit of Laws [The Spirit of the Laws; De l’esprit des lois], Book 11, ch. 6 (1748) [tr. Stewart (2018)]

Dave — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 22:16:32 +0000

Political freedom in a citizen is the tranquility of mind that comes from the opinion each one has of his security; and for him to have this freedom, the government must be such that one citizen cannot fear another citizen.

[La liberté politique, dans un citoyen, est cette tranquillité d’esprit qui provient de l’opinion que chacun a de sa sûreté: &, pour qu’on ait cette liberté, il faut que le gouvernement soit tel, qu’un citoyen ne puisse pas craindre un autre citoyen.]

Charles-Lewis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) French political philosopher
Spirit of Laws [The Spirit of the Laws; De l’esprit des lois], Book 11, ch. 6 (1748) [tr. Stewart (2018)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Other translations:

The political liberty of the subject is a tranquility of mind, arising from the opinion each person has of his safety. In order to have this liberty, it is requisite the government be so constituted as one man need not be afraid of another.
[tr. Nugent (1750)]

Political liberty in a citizen is that tranquility of spirit which comes from the opinion each one has of his security, and in order for him to have this liberty the government must be such that one citizen cannot fear another citizen.
[tr. Cohler/Miller/Stone (1989)]

French: x4

Euripides -- Medea [Μήδεια], l. 14ff (431 BC) [tr. Murray (1906)]

Dave — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 18:47:27 +0000

NURSE:Surely this doth bind,
Through all ill days, the hurts of humankind,
When man and woman in one music move.

[ΤΡΟΦΌΣ: ἥπερ μεγίστη γίγνεται σωτηρία,
ὅταν γυνὴ πρὸς ἄνδρα μὴ διχοστατῇ.]

Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Medea [Μήδεια], l. 14ff (431 BC) [tr. Murray (1906)]
(Source)

(Source (Greek)). Other translations:

Hence bliss supreme arises, when the bond
Of concord joins them.
[tr. Wodhull (1782)]

This is the state of firmest happiness,
When from the husband no discordant will
The wife estranges.
[tr. Potter (1814)]

In which the better part of safety lies
That the woman should not differ from the man.
[tr. Webster (1868)]

The greatest safeguard this when wife and husband do agree.
[tr. Coleridge (1891)]

Which is the surest support of conjugal happiness, when the wife is not estranged from the husband.
[tr. Buckley (1892)]

Which is the chief salvation of the home,
When wife stands not at variance with her lord.
[tr. Way (Loeb) (1894)]

This is indeed the greatest salvation of all --
For the wife not to stand apart from the husband.
[tr. Warner (1944)]

Happy is the house
Where the man and the woman love and are faithful.
[tr. Jeffers (1946)]

And in a marriage that's the saving thing,
When a wife obediently accepts her husband's will.
[tr. Vellacott (1963)]

This, to my mind, is a woman’s greatest safety:
Not to take the opposite side from her husband.
[tr. Podlecki (1989)]

This it is that most rescues life from trouble, when a woman is not at variance with her husband.
[tr. Kovacs (1994)]

This is what keeps a marraige intact more than anything, when a husband can count on complete support from his wife.
[tr. Davie (1996)]

That, you see, is how a woman earns her security: never argue with your husband!
[tr. Theodoridis (2004)]

This is what brings the greatest stability at home:
when a woman does not challenge her husband.
[tr. Luschnig (2007)]

That’s when life is most secure and safe,
when woman and her husband stand as one.
[tr. Johnston (2008)]

This provides the greatest security,
when a wife doesn't oppose her husband.
[tr. Kovacs / Kitzinger (2016)]

That is the best security,
when the wife does not quarrel with her husband.
[tr. Ewans (2022)]

This is the greatest safety [sōtēriā], when wife does not stand apart from husband.
[tr. Coleridge / Ceragioli / Nagy / Hour25]

Hamilton, Alexander -- Letter (1792-08-18) to George Washington, Enclosure: “Objections and Answers Respecting the Administration,” Objection 14

Dave — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 21:31:28 +0000

The truth unquestionably is, that the only path to a subversion of the republican system of the Country is, by flattering the prejudices of the people, and exciting their jealousies and apprehensions, to throw affairs into confusion, and bring on civil commotion. Tired at length of anarchy, or want of government, they may take shelter in the arms of monarchy for repose and security.

Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804) American statesman, author
Letter (1792-08-18) to George Washington, Enclosure: “Objections and Answers Respecting the Administration,” Objection 14
(Source)

Joubert, Joseph -- Pensées [Thoughts], ch. 14 “Des Gouvernements [On Governments],” ¶ 38 (1850 ed.) [tr. Calvert (1866), ch. 12]

Dave — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 17:26:30 +0000

Men are born unequal. The great benefit of society is to diminish this inequality as much as is possible, by procuring for all, security, property, education, and assistance.

[Les hommes naissent inégaux. Le grand bienfait de la société est de diminuer cette inégalité autant qu’il est possible, en procurant à tous la sûreté, la propriété nécessaire, l’éducation et les secours.]

Joseph Joubert (1754-1824) French moralist, philosopher, essayist, poet
Pensées [Thoughts], ch. 14 “Des Gouvernements [On Governments],” ¶ 38 (1850 ed.) [tr. Calvert (1866), ch. 12]
(Source)

(Source (French)).

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Speech (1941-01-06) to Congress, Annual Message (State of the Union), “Four Freedoms,” Washington, D. C.

Dave — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 23:17:19 +0000

Principles of morality and considerations for our own security will never permit us to acquiesce in a peace dictated by aggressors and sponsored by appeasers. We know that enduring peace cannot be bought at the cost of other people’s freedom.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933–1945)
Speech (1941-01-06) to Congress, Annual Message (State of the Union), “Four Freedoms,” Washington, D. C.
(Source)

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard (1734 ed.)

Dave — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 17:15:42 +0000

He that waits upon Fortune, is never sure of a Dinner.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1734 ed.)
(Source)

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).

Black, Hugo -- James Madison Lecture, NYU School of Law (1960-02-17)

Dave — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 18:01:39 +0000

The First Amendment is truly the heart of the Bill of Rights. The Framers balanced its freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition against the needs of a powerful central government, and decided that in those freedoms lies this nation’s only true security. They were not afraid for men to be free. We should not be.

Hugo Black (1886-1971) American politician and jurist, US Supreme Court Justice (1937-71)
James Madison Lecture, NYU School of Law (1960-02-17)
(Source)

The inaugural Madison lecture. Reprinted as "The Bill of Rights," NYU Law Review, Vol. 35 (1960-04).

Addison, Joseph -- Essay (1713-08-15), The Guardian, No. 135

Dave — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 20:50:47 +0000

A good conscience is to the Soul what health is to the body; it preserves constant ease and serenity within us; and more than countervails all the calamities and afflictions which can befall us from without.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
Essay (1713-08-15), The Guardian, No. 135
(Source)

Schieffer, Bob -- “Free Speech,” CBS Evening News (14 Sep 2006)

Dave — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 16:09:49 +0000

Democracies have no business running secret prisons. That’s what our enemies do. If we are in a battle for the hearts and minds of people around the world, as the administration says we are, I won’t feel very secure if the people around the world believe we are no different than our enemies. […] As Americans, we do believe our system offers a better way. But the only way to convince others of that is if we live by our values. Real security begins with remembering who we are. We gain nothing by adopting the methods of our enemies.

Bob Schieffer (b. 1937) American broadcast journalist
“Free Speech,” CBS Evening News (14 Sep 2006)
(Source)

Commager, Henry Steele -- Speech (1971-04-10), “The University and the Community of Learning,” Kent State University, Ohio

Dave — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 20:05:16 +0000

What threatens our security is not change but the inability to change; what threatens progress is not revolution but stagnation; what threatens our survival is not novel or dangerous ideas but the absence of ideas.

Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
Speech (1971-04-10), “The University and the Community of Learning,” Kent State University, Ohio
(Source)

Paton, Alan -- “The Challenge of Fear,” The Saturday Review (1967-09-09)

Dave — Wed, 04 May 2022 00:10:11 +0000

When men are ruled by fear, they strive to prevent the very changes that will abate it.

Alan Paton (1903-1988) South African author, activist
“The Challenge of Fear,” The Saturday Review (1967-09-09)
(Source)

Collected in Sheridan Baker, The Essayist (1981).

Commager, Henry Steele -- Essay (1949-11-05), “What Ideas Are Safe?” Saturday Review

Dave — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 14:51:23 +0000

A nation which, in the name of loyalty or of patriotism or of a sincere and high-sounding idea, discourages criticism and dissent, and puts a premium on acquiescence and conformity, is headed for disaster.

Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1949-11-05), “What Ideas Are Safe?” Saturday Review
(Source)

Collected in Freedom and Order (1966).

Durant, William James -- The Lessons of History, ch. 10 (1968) [with Ariel Durant]

Dave — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 23:42:11 +0000

But if war continues to absorb and dominate it, or if the itch to rule the world requires large military establishment and appropriation, the freedom of democracy may one by one succumb to the discipline of arms and strife. If race or class war divides us into hostile camps, changing political argument into blind hate, one side or the other may overturn the hustings with the rule of the sword. If our economy of freedom fails to distribute wealth as ably as it has created it, the road to dictatorship will be open to any man who can persuasively promise security to all; and a martial government, under whatever charming phrases, will engulf the democratic world.

William James (Will) Durant (1885-1981) American historian, teacher, philosopher
The Lessons of History, ch. 10 (1968) [with Ariel Durant]
(Source)

Commager, Henry Steele -- Freedom, Loyalty, Dissent, Preface (1954)

Dave — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 14:55:13 +0000

Freedom is not a luxury that we can indulge in when at last we have security and prosperity and enlightenment; it is, rather, antecedent to all of these, for without it we can have neither security nor prosperity nor enlightenment.

Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
Freedom, Loyalty, Dissent, Preface (1954)
(Source)

McLaughlin, Mignon -- The Second Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 7 (1966)

Dave — Thu, 13 Jan 2022 15:31:25 +0000

When threatened, the first thing a democracy gives up is democracy.

Mignon McLaughlin (1913-1983) American journalist and author
The Second Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 7 (1966)
(Source)

Forman, Milos -- National Security Archive interview (18 Jan 1997)

Dave — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 22:30:53 +0000

You know, you have to really decide where you want to live: if you want to live in the jungle or in the zoo. Because if you want the beauty, if you want freedom, the jungle is … that’s your world. But you’re in danger there, you have to live with snakes, sharks, tigers, skunks, you know, mosquitoes, leeches. You want to be safe, you have to live in the zoo. You are protected. You know, if you are a lamb, the tiger will not attack you. You know, you’ll get a little bit something to eat every day; that’s fine. You have to work hard, but you live behind the bars, and what’s wonderful — you live there behind the bars and you dream about the beauty of the jungle. Now what happened was that the bars opened, and everybody runs after the dream. And suddenly, well, yeah, it’s beautiful — yes, I am free to go wherever I want, do whatever I want, but where do I want to go? Oh, my God, and here is a tiger and here’s a snake. Oh, oh, and people have a tendency to, you know, back. And you will be surprised how many people prefer to live in the zoo; they are not ready to pay for the freedom; they think that freedom should be, you know, for free, even for granted, which never is, never is.

Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman (1932-2018) Czech-American film director, screenwriter, actor, academic
National Security Archive interview (18 Jan 1997)
(Source)

On life and work in the post-Communist world.

Snyder, Timothy -- On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, ch. 17 (2017)

Dave — Wed, 09 Jun 2021 12:57:57 +0000

The most intelligent of the Nazis, the legal theorist Carl Schmitt, explained in clear language the essence of fascist governance. The way to destroy all rules, he explained, was to focus on the idea of the exception. A Nazi leader outmaneuvers his opponents by manufacturing a general conviction that the present moment is exceptional, and then transforming that state of exception into a permanent emergency. Citizens then trade real freedom for fake safety.

Timothy Snyder (b. 1969) American historian, author
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, ch. 17 (2017)
(Source)

De Vries, Peter -- Comfort Me With Apples (1956)

Dave — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 16:33:29 +0000

We pay for security with boredom, for adventure with bother.

Peter De Vries (1910-1993) American editor, novelist, satirist
Comfort Me With Apples (1956)
(Source)

Lindbergh, Anne Morrow -- The Wave of the Future (1940)

Dave — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 23:18:45 +0000

Only in growth, reform, and change, paradoxically enough, is true security to be found.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906-2001) American writer, pilot
The Wave of the Future (1940)
(Source)

Forster, E. M. -- “The Tercentenary of the Areopagitica,” Two Cheers for Democracy (1951)

Dave — Wed, 18 Mar 2020 21:48:06 +0000

We are willing enough to praise freedom when she is safely tucked away in the past and cannot be a nuisance. In the present, amidst dangers whose outcome we cannot foresee, we get nervous about her, and admit censorship.

E. M. Forster (1879-1970) English novelist, essayist, critic, librettist [Edward Morgan Forster]
“The Tercentenary of the Areopagitica,” Two Cheers for Democracy (1951)
(Source)

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- Journal (1857)

Dave — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 20:14:57 +0000

I took such pains not to keep my money in the house, but to put it out of the reach of burglars by buying stock, and had no guess that I was putting it into the hands of these very burglars now grown wiser and standing dressed as Railway Directors.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
Journal (1857)
(Source)

Miller, Henry -- Sexus, ch. 14 (1949)

Dave — Tue, 14 Jan 2020 21:37:30 +0000

The man who looks for security, even in the mind, is like a man who would chop off his limbs in order to have artificial ones which will give him no pain or trouble.

Henry Miller (1891-1980) American novelist
Sexus, ch. 14 (1949)
(Source)

Talmud -- Babylonian Talmud, Baba Bathra 28b

Dave — Thu, 20 Jul 2017 19:46:34 +0000

Thy friend has a friend, and thy friend’s friend has a friend; be discreet.

The Talmud (AD 200-500) Collection of Jewish rabbinical writings
Babylonian Talmud, Baba Bathra 28b
(Source)

Noted as a common saying. The summary "be discreet" does not appear in the actual Talmud translations I found, but seems to be an explanation from early Christian reviews of the Talmud for when the verse is given as a stand-alone proverb.

Walpole, Horace -- A Note Book of Horace Walpole, “1781” (1927)

Dave — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 13:56:09 +0000

Lesson to the Indiscreet: They who say all they think, and tell all they know, put others on their guard and prevent themselves from being told anything of consequence.

Horace Walpole (1717-1797) English novelist, letter writer
A Note Book of Horace Walpole, “1781” (1927)

Boetcker, William J. H. -- “The Industrial Decalogue” (1916)

Dave — Tue, 14 Mar 2017 22:25:50 +0000

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.
You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away men’s initiative and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.

William J. H. Boetcker (1873-1962) German-American religious leader, author, public speaker [William John Henry Boetcker]
“The Industrial Decalogue” (1916)

Often referred to as "The Ten Cannots," and also often misattributed to Abraham Lincoln.

Keynes, John Maynard -- “Clissold” (1927)

Dave — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 17:39:41 +0000

Most men love money and security more, and creation and construction less, as they get older.

John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) English economist
“Clissold” (1927)

Arendt, Hannah -- Essay (1969-02-27), “Reflections on Violence,” ch. 4, The New York Review of Books

Dave — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 05:15:33 +0000

The climax of terror is reached when the police state begins to devour its own children, when yesterday’s executioner becomes today’s victim.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Essay (1969-02-27), “Reflections on Violence,” ch. 4, The New York Review of Books
(Source)

Revised and collected in On Violence, ch. 2 (1970). See Büchner (1835).

Eisenhower, Dwight David -- White House Years: Waging Peace, 1956-1961 (1965)

Dave — Tue, 14 Jun 2016 19:39:35 +0000

We need an adequate defense, but every arms dollar we spend above adequacy has a long-term weakening effect upon the nation and its security.

Dwight David Eisenhower (1890-1969) American general, US President (1953-61)
White House Years: Waging Peace, 1956-1961 (1965)

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard (1733)

Dave — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 21:06:32 +0000

Distrust and caution are the parents of security.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1733)
(Source)

Eisenhower, Dwight David -- Speech, American Society of Newspaper Editors, Washington, DC (21 Apr 1956)

Dave — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 19:51:40 +0000

Arms alone can give the world no permanent peace, no confident security. Arms are solely for defense — to protect from violent assault what we already have. They are only a costly insurance. They cannot add to human progress.

Dwight David Eisenhower (1890-1969) American general, US President (1953-61)
Speech, American Society of Newspaper Editors, Washington, DC (21 Apr 1956)

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)

Sterne, Laurence -- Sermon 12, “Joseph’s History Considered”

Dave — Fri, 15 Jan 2016 16:52:43 +0000

The brave only know how to forgive; it is the most refined and generous pitch of virtue human nature can arrive at. Cowards have done good and kind actions, cowards have even fought, nay some times, even conquered; but a coward never forgave. It is not in his nature; the power of doing it flows only from a strength and greatness of soul, conscious of its own force and security, and above the little temptations of resenting every fruitless attempt to interrupt its happiness.

Laurence Sterne (1713-1786) Anglo-Irish novelist, Anglican clergyman
Sermon 12, “Joseph’s History Considered”
(Source)

Moore, Ronald D. -- Battlestar Galactica, 1×02 “Water” [Adama] (2004)

Dave — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 14:27:50 +0000

There is a reason you separate military and the police. One fights the enemies of the state, the other serves and protects the people. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the state tend to become the people.

Ronald D. Moore (b. 1964) American screenwriter, television producer
Battlestar Galactica, 1×02 “Water” [Adama] (2004)

Aaronovitch, Ben -- Moon Over Soho (2011)

Dave — Wed, 18 Nov 2015 15:38:35 +0000

There’s a particular kind of safety that comes from being on the streets where you went to school, had your first snog, or drink, or threw up your first chicken vindaloo.

Ben Aaronovitch (b. 1964) British author
Moon Over Soho (2011)

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)

Doctorow, Cory -- Little Brother (2008)

Dave — Tue, 22 Sep 2015 13:47:30 +0000

No matter how unpredictable the future may be, we don’t win freedom through security systems, cryptography, interrogations and spot searches. We win freedom by having the courage and the conviction to live every day freely and to act as a free society, no matter how great the threats are on the horizon.

Cory Doctorow (b. 1971) Canadian-British blogger, journalist, activist, author
Little Brother (2008)

Doctorow, Cory -- Little Brother (2008)

Dave — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 13:26:35 +0000

Trading privacy for security is stupid enough; not getting any actual security in the bargain is even more stupid.

Cory Doctorow (b. 1971) Canadian-British blogger, journalist, activist, author
Little Brother (2008)

Eisenhower, Dwight David -- “The Chance for Peace,” speech to American Society of Newspaper Editors, Washington (16 Apr 1953)

Dave — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 17:52:00 +0000

The way chosen by the United States was plainly marked by a few clear precepts, which govern its conduct in world affairs.

First: No people on earth can be held, as a people, to be enemy, for all humanity shares the common hunger for peace and fellowship and justice.

Second: No nation’s security and well-being can be lastingly achieved in isolation but only in effective cooperation with fellow-nations.

Third: Any nation’s right to form of government and an economic system of its own choosing is inalienable.

Fourth: Any nation’s attempt to dictate to other nations their form of government is indefensible.

And fifth: A nation’s hope of lasting peace cannot be firmly based upon any race in armaments but rather upon just relations and honest understanding with all other nations.

Dwight David Eisenhower (1890-1969) American general, US President (1953-61)
“The Chance for Peace,” speech to American Society of Newspaper Editors, Washington (16 Apr 1953)

Also known as the "Cross of Iron" speech.

Eisenhower, Dwight David -- The White House Years: Mandate for Change: 1953-1956: A Personal Account (1963)

Dave — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 14:13:54 +0000

Un-American activity cannot be prevented or routed out by employing un-American methods; to preserve freedom we must use the tools that freedom provides.

Dwight David Eisenhower (1890-1969) American general, US President (1953-61)
The White House Years: Mandate for Change: 1953-1956: A Personal Account (1963)

Kennedy, Robert F. -- The Pursuit of Justice, “Eradicating Free Enterprise in Organized Crime” (1964)

Dave — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 15:39:04 +0000

In the words of the old saying, every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on.

Robert Francis Kennedy (1925-1968) American politician
The Pursuit of Justice, “Eradicating Free Enterprise in Organized Crime” (1964)
(Source)

Hemry, John G. -- The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Invincible (2012)

Dave — Wed, 23 Jul 2014 12:02:41 +0000

Security is not a license for people in authority to hide tactics they would never openly admit to using.

John G. Hemry (b. 1956) American naval officer, author [pseud. Jack Campbell]
The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Invincible (2012)

Hammarskjold, Dag -- Speech, 180th Anniversary of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, Williamsburg (15 May 1956)

Dave — Tue, 22 Jul 2014 13:06:35 +0000

It is when we all play safe that we create a world of utmost insecurity.

Dag Hammarskjöld (1905-1961) Swedish diplomat, author, UN Secretary-General (1953-61)
Speech, 180th Anniversary of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, Williamsburg (15 May 1956)
(Source)

Epicurus -- The Vatican Collection of Epicurean Sayings [Sententiae Vaticanae], #31

Dave — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 13:14:03 +0000

It is possible to provide security against other ills, but as far as death is concerned, we men live in a city without walls.

Epicurus (341-270 BC) Greek philosopher
The Vatican Collection of Epicurean Sayings [Sententiae Vaticanae], #31
(Source)

Alt. trans.: "One can attain security against other things, but when it comes to death all men live in a city without walls."

Lowell, James Russell -- New England Two Centuries Ago (1865)

Dave — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 13:29:06 +0000

He who is firmly seated in authority soon learns to think security, and not progress, the highest lesson of statecraft.

James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) American diplomat, essayist, poet
New England Two Centuries Ago (1865)

Russell, Bertrand -- Lecture (1949-01-30), “Individual and Social Ethics,” Reith Lecture, No. 6, BBC Radio

Dave — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 13:41:18 +0000

On the one hand, security and justice require centralized governmental control, which must extend to the creation of a world government if it is to be effective. Progress, on the contrary, requires the utmost scope for personal initiative that is compatible with social order.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Lecture (1949-01-30), “Individual and Social Ethics,” Reith Lecture, No. 6, BBC Radio
(Source)

As collected, with edits, in Authority and the Individual (1949).

Black, Hugo -- New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713, 719 (1971) [concurring]

Dave — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 16:49:59 +0000

The word “security” is a broad, vague generality whose contours should not be invoked to abrogate the fundamental law embodied in the First Amendment. The guarding of military and diplomatic secrets at the expense of informed representative government provides no real security for our Republic.

Hugo Black (1886-1971) American politician and jurist, US Supreme Court Justice (1937-71)
New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713, 719 (1971) [concurring]
(Source)

Tolkien, J.R.R. -- The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 2: The Two Towers, Book 4, ch. 1 “The Taming of Sméagol” (1954)

Dave — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 12:26:38 +0000

Deserves death! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some die that deserve life. Can you give that to them? Then be not too eager to deal out death in the name of justice, fearing for your own safety. Even the wise cannot see all ends.

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) English writer, fabulist, philologist, academic [John Ronald Reuel Tolkien]
The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 2: The Two Towers, Book 4, ch. 1 “The Taming of Sméagol” (1954)
(Source)

Frodo recalling the words of Gandalf (approximately) in The Fellowship of the Ring.

Horace -- Odes [Carmina], Book 2, # 10, l. 1ff (2.10.1-8) (23 BC) [tr. Conington (1872)]

Dave — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 13:08:40 +0000

Licinius, trust a seaman’s lore:
Steer not too boldly to the deep,
Nor, fearing storms, by treacherous shore
Too closely creep.
Who makes the golden mean his guide,
Shuns miser’s cabin, foul and dark,
Shuns gilded roofs, where pomp and pride
Are envy’s mark.

[Rectius vives, Licini, neque altum
semper urgendo neque, dum procellas
cautus horrescis, nimium premendo
litus iniquum.
Auream quisquis mediocritatem
diligit, tutus caret obsoleti
sordibus tecti, caret invidenda
sobrius aula.]

Horace (65–8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus]
Odes [Carmina], Book 2, # 10, l. 1ff (2.10.1-8) (23 BC) [tr. Conington (1872)]
(Source)

To Licinius Varro Murena, who was later executed as a conspirator against Augustus.

(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

The safest way of life, is neither
To tempt the Deeps, nor whilst foul weather
You fearfully avoid, too near
The shore to steer.
He that affects the Golden Mean,
Will neither want a house that's clean,
Nor swell unto the place of showres
His envy'd Towres.
[tr. Fanshaw; ed. Brome (1666)]

Wise they, that with a cautious fear
Not always thro the Ocean Steer,
Nor, whilst they think the Winds will roar,
Do thrust too near the rocky Shore:
To those that choose the golden Mean:
The Waves are smooth, the Skies serene;
They want the baseness of the Poors retreat,
And envy'd Houses of the Great.
[tr. Creech (1684)]

Receive, dear friend, the truths I teach,
So shalt thou live beyond the reach
Of adverse fortunes pow'r;
Not always tempt the distant deep,
Nor always timorously creep
Along the treach'rous shore.
He that holds fast the golden mean,
And lives contentedly between
The little and the great,
Feels not the wants that pinch the poor,
Nor plagues that haunt the rich man's door,
Imbitt'ring all his state.
[tr. Cowper (1782?)]

O Licinius, you will lead a more correct course of life, by neither always pursuing the main ocean, nor, while you cautiously are in dread of storms, by pressing too much upon the hazardous shore. Whosoever loves the golden mean, is secure from the sordidness of an antiquated cell, and is too prudent to have a palace that might expose him to envy.
[tr. Smart/Buckley (1853)]

If thou wouldst live secure and free,
Thou wilt not keep far out at sea,
Licinius, evermore;
Nor, fearful of the gales that sweep
The ocean wide, too closely creep
Along the treacherous shore.
The man, who with a soul serene
Doth cultivate the golden mean,
Escapes alike from all
The squalor of a sordid cot,
And from the jealousies begot
By wealth in lordly hall.
[tr. Martin (1864)]

Licinius, wouldst thou steer life's wiser voyage,
Neither launch always into deep mid-waters,
Nor hug the shores, and, shrinking from the tempest,
Hazard the quicksand.
He who elects the golden mean of fortune,
Nor where dull squalor rots the time-worn hovel,
Nor where fierce envy storms the new-built palace,
Makes his safe dwelling.
[tr. Bulwer-Lytton (1870)]

Neither always tempt the deep,
Nor, Licinius, always keep,
Fearing storms, the slippery beach:
Such the rule of life I teach.
Golden is the middle state;
Love the middle gifts of fate,
Not the sloven squalid cot,
Proud and envied palace not.
[tr. Gladstone (1894)]

Better, Licinius, wilt thou live, by neither
Tempting the deep for ever, nor, while tempests
Cautiously shunning, by too closely hugging
Shores that are treach'rous.
He who the golden mean adopts, is ever
Free from the sorrows of a squalid dwelling; --
Free from the cares attending on the envied
Halls of the wealthy.
[tr. Phelps (1897)]

Licinius, better wilt thou live by neither urging
Alway out to sea, nor, while on guard 'gainst storms
Thou shudderest, by pressing an evil shore
Too close.
Whoever courts a golden mean is safe
To escape the squalor of a mouldered roof.
And shrewd to escape a paJace that may
Be grudged to him.
[tr. Garnsey (1907)]

Safer thou'lt sail life's voyage, if them steer
Neither right out to sea, nor yet, when rise
The threat'ning tempests, hug the shore too near,
Unwisely wise.
What man soe'er the golden mean doth choose,
Prudent will shun the hovel's foul decay;
But with like sense, a palace will refuse
And vain display.
[tr. Marshall (1908)]

Better wilt thou live, Licinius, by neither always pressing out to sea nor too closely hugging the dangerous shore in cautious fear of storms. Whoso cherishes the golden mean, safely avoids the foulness of an ill-kept house and discreetly, too, avoids a hall exciting envy.
[tr. Bennett (Loeb) (1912)]

Licinius, would you live aright,
Tempt not the high seas evermore,
Nor, fearing tempests, in your fright
Too closely hug the dangerous shore.
Who loves the golden mean is free
And safe from grime -- the grime a house
Harbours in eld; his modesty
Earns not the envy mansions rouse.
[tr. Mills (1924)]

Sail not too far to be safe, O Licinius!
Neither too close to the shore should you steer.
Rashness is foolish, and how ignominious
Cowardly fear!
He who possesses neither palace nor hovel
(My little flat would be half way between)
Hasn't a house at which paupers must grovel
Yet it is clean.
[tr. Adams (1928)]

Licinius, to live wisely shun
The deep sea; on the other hand,
Straining to dodge the storm don't run
Too close in to the jagged land.
All who love safety make their prize
The golden mean and hate extremes:
Mansions are envied for their size,
Slums pitied for their rotting beams.
[tr. Michie (1963)]

Licinius, life makes better sense
Lived neither pushing farther and farther
To sea, nor always hugging the dangerous
Shore, shaking at the thought of storms.
Cherish a golden mean and stay
Exempt from a filthy hovel
And exempt from the envy
A mansion excites.
[tr. Raffel (1983)]

You'll do better, Licinius, not to spend your life
Venturing too far out on the dangerous waters,
Or else, for fear of storms, staying too close in
To the dangerous rocky shoreline, That man does best
Who chooses the middle way, so he doesn't end up
Living under a roof that's going to ruin
Or in some gorgeous mansion everyone envies.
[tr. Ferry (1997)]

Better will you live, O Licinius, not always urging yourself out upon the high seas, nor ever hugging the insidious shore in fear of storms. He who esteems the golden mean safely avoids the squalor of a wretched house and in sobriety, equally shuns the enviable palace.
[tr. Alexander (1999)]

You’ll live more virtuously, my Murena,
by not setting out to sea, while you’re in dread
of the storm, or hugging fatal shores
too closely, either.
Whoever takes delight in the golden mean,
safely avoids the squalor of a shabby house,
and, soberly, avoids the regal palace
that incites envy.
[tr. Kline (2015)]

Machiavelli, Niccolo -- The Discourses on Livy, Book 3, ch. 41 (1517) [tr. Detmold (1882)]

Dave — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:14:44 +0000

Where the very safety of the country depends upon the resolution to be taken, no considerations of justice or injustice, humanity or cruelty, nor of glory or shame, should be allowed to prevail. But putting all other considerations aside, the only question should be, “What course will save the life and liberty of the country?”

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) Italian politician, philosopher, political scientist
The Discourses on Livy, Book 3, ch. 41 (1517) [tr. Detmold (1882)]

Smith, Margaret Chase -- “Declaration of Conscience,” Congressional Record, vol. 96, 81st Congress, 2d. sess. (1 Jun 1950)

Dave — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 10:08:53 +0000

It is high time that we stopped thinking politically as Republicans and Democrats about elections and started thinking patriotically as Americans about national security based on individual freedom. It is high time that we all stopped being tools and victims of totalitarian techniques — techniques that, if continued here unchecked, will surely end what we have come to cherish as the American Way of Life.

Margaret Chase Smith (1897-1965) American politician (US Senator, Maine)
“Declaration of Conscience,” Congressional Record, vol. 96, 81st Congress, 2d. sess. (1 Jun 1950)
(Source)

Aesop -- Fables [Aesopica], “The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse” (6th C BC) [tr. Jacobs (1894)]

Dave — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:05:36 +0000

Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear.

Aesop (620?-560? BC) Legendary Greek storyteller
Fables [Aesopica], “The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse” (6th C BC) [tr. Jacobs (1894)]
(Source)

Alternate translations:

"The Difference betwixt a Court and a Country Life. The Delights, Innocence, and Security of the One, Compar'd with the Anxiety, the Lewdness, and the Hazards of the Other." [tr. L'Estrange (1692)]
"Give me my barley-bread in peace and security before the daintiest feast where Fear and Care are in waiting." [tr. James (1848)]
"A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety."

Compare to Proverbs 17:1 "Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife."

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- Column (1943-04-15), “My Day”

Dave — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:27:34 +0000

It is not only in war, however, that we fight for freedom. One fights for freedom in personal contacts and in many phases of civilian life. When the war is over, the four freedoms will not have been won, we shall simply have dominated their more aggressive enemies. At all times, day by day, we have to continue fighting for freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom from fear, and freedom from want — for these are things that must be gained in peace as well as in war. At all times, day by day, we have to continue fighting for freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom from want — for these are things that must be gained in peace as well as in war.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
Column (1943-04-15), “My Day”
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Freedom and Government,” in Ruth Nanda Anshen, ed., Freedom: Its Meaning (1940)

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

Since freedom of opinion can only exist when the government thinks itself secure, it is important that the government should have the approval of the great majority of the population and should deal with discontented minorities, wherever possible, in a manner calculated to allay their discontent. A government must possess force, but cannot be a satisfactory government unless force is seldom necessary.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Freedom and Government,” in Ruth Nanda Anshen, ed., Freedom: Its Meaning (1940)
(Source)

Keller, Helen -- Let Us Have Faith, “Faith Fears Not” (1940)

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

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. God Himself is not secure, having given man dominion over His works! Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold. Faith alone defends. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.

Helen Keller (1880-1968) American author and lecturer
Let Us Have Faith, “Faith Fears Not” (1940)
(Source)

Reprinted in her compilation book, The Open Door (1957). This quotation is often given in excerpted form, leaving out certain sentences, or even rearranging some of the sentences and sometimes making it seem that the two sources are actually different.

Bolt, Robert -- A Man for All Seasons, play, Act 1 (1960)

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

ROPER: So, now you’d give the Devil the benefit of law!

MORE: Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?

ROPER: Yes, I’d cut down every law in England to do that!

MORE: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned ’round on you — where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast — Man’s laws, not God’s — and if you cut them down — and you’re just the man to do it — d’you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I’d give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake.

Robert Bolt (1924-1995) English dramatist
A Man for All Seasons, play, Act 1 (1960)
(Source)

Bolt's 1966 film adaptation uses the same language, with slightly variant punctuation. As well, the film ends the scene here, where the play continues with further dialog. (Source (Video); dialog verified.)

Tolkien, J.R.R. -- The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 1: The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 1, ch. 2 “The Shadow of the Past” [Gandalf] (1954)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 18:00:00 +0000

Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) English writer, fabulist, philologist, academic [John Ronald Reuel Tolkien]
The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 1: The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 1, ch. 2 “The Shadow of the Past” [Gandalf] (1954)
(Source)

Frodo later recounts these words (approximately) to Sam in The Two Towers.

Pitt, William the Younger -- Speech (1793-11-18), House of Commons, London

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

It is true, the bill is said to be founded on necessity; but what is this? Is it not necessity, which has always been the plea of every illegal exertion of power, or exercise of oppression? Is not necessity the pretence of every usurpation? Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.

William Pitt (1759-1806) British Prime Minister (1804-06) [William Pitt the Younger]
Speech (1793-11-18), House of Commons, London
(Source)

Speech on a bill changing the process of governing India. Cf. Milton.