WIST Quotations

Russell, Bertrand -- Lecture (1949-01-16), “The Conflict of Technique and Human Nature,” Reith Lecture, “Authority and the Individual” No. 4, BBC Radio

Dave — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 17:17:12 +0000

Those who believe that the voice of the people is the voice of God may infer that any unusual opinion or peculiar taste is almost a form of impiety, and is to be viewed as a culpable rebellion against the legitimate authority of the herd. This will only be avoided if liberty is as much valued as democracy, and it is realized that a society in which each is the slave of all is only a little better than one in which each is the slave of a despot. There is equality where all are slaves, as well as where all are free. This shows that equality, by itself, is not enough to make a good society.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Lecture (1949-01-16), “The Conflict of Technique and Human Nature,” Reith Lecture, “Authority and the Individual” No. 4, BBC Radio
(Source)

This passage was not included in the original broadcast (transcript), but only in the collected and edited version in Authority and the Individual (1949).

More on "the voice of the people is the voice of God" here.

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)]

Bierce, Ambrose -- “Ballot,” “Devil’s Dictionary” column, San Francisco Wasp (1881-04-23)

Dave — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 19:35:56 +0000

BALLOT, n. A simple device by which a majority proves to a minority the folly of resistance. Many worthy persons of imperfect thinking apparatus believe that majorities govern through some inherent right; and minorities submit, not because they must, but because they ought.

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) American writer and journalist
“Ballot,” “Devil’s Dictionary” column, San Francisco Wasp (1881-04-23)
(Source)

Not collected in later books.

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- Column (1943-08-13), “My Day”

Dave — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 16:59:37 +0000

It seems to me that it is the part of common sense for the world as a whole to protest in its own interest against wholesale persecution, because none of us by ourselves would be strong enough to stand against a big enough group which decided to treat us in the same way. We may have our individual likes and dislikes, but this is a question which far transcends prejudices or inclinations.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
Column (1943-08-13), “My Day”
(Source)

On the persecution of Jews in Europe.

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

Dave — Fri, 30 May 2025 18:57:17 +0000

On every hand are the enemies of individuality and mental freedom. Custom meets us at the cradle and leaves us only at the tomb. Our first questions are answered by ignorance, and our last by superstition. We are pushed and dragged by countless hands along the beaten track, and our entire training can be summed up in the word –suppression. Our desire to have a thing or to do a thing is considered as conclusive evidence that we ought not to have it, and ought not to do it. At every turn we run against cherubim and a flaming sword guarding some entrance to the Eden of our desire. We are allowed to investigate all subjects in which we feel no particular interest, and to express the opinions of the majority with the utmost freedom. We are taught that liberty of speech should never be carried to the extent of contradicting the dead witnesses of a popular superstition. Society offers continual rewards for self-betrayal, and they are nearly all earned and claimed, and some are paid.

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).

Horace -- Odes [Carmina], Book 3, # 3, l. 1ff (3.3.1-4) (23 BC) [tr. Conington (1872)]

Dave — Fri, 30 Aug 2024 21:35:55 +0000

The man of firm and righteous will,
No rabble, clamorous for the wrong,
No tyrant’s brow, whose frown may kill,
Can shake the strength that makes him strong.

[Iustum et tenacem propositi virum
non civium ardor prava iubentium,
non voltus instantis tyranni
mente quatit solida]

Horace (65–8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus]
Odes [Carmina], Book 3, # 3, l. 1ff (3.3.1-4) (23 BC) [tr. Conington (1872)]
(Source)

(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

An honest and resolved man,
Neither a peoples tumults can,
Neither a Tyrants indignation,
Un-center from his fast foundation.
[tr. Fanshaw; ed. Brome (1666)]

Not the rage of the people pressing to hurtful measures, not the aspect of a threatening tyrant can shake from his settled purpose the man who is just and determined in his resolution.
[tr. Smart/Buckley (1853)]

He that is just, and firm of will
Doth not before the fury quake
Of mobs that instigate to ill,
Nor hath the tyrant's menace skill
His fixed resolve to shake.
[tr. Martin (1864)]

Not the rage of the million commanding things evil,
Not the doom frowning near in the brows of the tyrant,
Shakes the upright and resolute man
In his solid completeness of soul.
[tr. Bulwer-Lytton (1870)]

Neither the fury of the populace, commanding him to do what is wrong, nor the face of the despot which confronts him, [...] shakes from his solid resolve a just and determined man.
[tr. Elgood (1893)]

The just man, in his purpose strong,
No madding crowd can bend to wrong.
The forceful tyrant's brow and word,
[...] His firm-set spirit cannot move.
[tr. Gladstone (1894)]

Him who is just, and stands to his purpose true.
Not the unruly ardour of citizens
Shall shake from his firm resolution,
Nor visage of the oppressing tyrant.
[tr. Phelps (1897)]

The upright man holding his purpose fast,
No heat of citizens enjoining wrongful acts,
No overbearing despot's countenance,
Shakes from his firm-set mind.
[tr. Garnsey (1907)]

The man that's just and resolute of mood
No craze of people's perverse vote can shake,
Nor frown of threat'ning monarch make
To quit a purposed good.
[tr. Marshall (1908)]

The man tenacious of his purpose in a righteous cause is not shaken from his firm resolve by the frenzy of his fellow citizens bidding what is wrong, not by the face of threatening tyrant.
[tr. Bennett (Loeb) (1912)]

Who loves the Right, whose will is resolute,
His purpose naught can shake — nor rage of brute
Mob bidding him work evil; nor the eye
Of threatening despot
[tr. Mills (1924)]

A mob of citizens clamouring for injustice,
An autocrat's grimace of rage [...] cannot stagger
The just and steady-purposed man.
[tr. Michie (1963)]

The man who knows what's right and is tenacious
In the knowledge of what he knows cannot be shaken.
Not by people righteously impassioned
In a wrong cause, and not by menacings
Of tyrants' frowns.
[tr. Ferry (1997)]

The just man, tenacious in his resolve,
will not be shaken from his settled purpose
by the frenzy of his fellow citizens
imposing that evil be done,
or by the frown of a threatening tyrant.
[tr. Alexander (1999)]

The passion of the public, demanding what
is wrong, never shakes the man of just and firm
intention, from his settled purpose,
nor the tyrant’s threatening face.
[tr. Kline (2015)]

Neither the passion of citizens demanding crooked things,
Not the face of a threatening tyrant
Shakes the man who is righteous and set in purpose
From his strong mind.
[tr. Wikisource (2021)]

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

Dave — Thu, 09 Mar 2023 16:21:31 +0000

Unfortunately, our own colonial history also provided ample reasons for people to be afraid to vest too much power in the national government. There had been bills of attainder here; women had been convicted and sentenced to death as “witches”; Quakers, Baptists, and various Protestant sects had been persecuted from time to time. Roger Williams left Massachusetts to breathe the free air of new Rhode Island. Catholics were barred from holding office in many places. Test oaths were required in some of the colonies to bar any but “Christians” from holding office. In New England Quakers suffered death for their faith. Baptists were sent to jail in Virginia for preaching, which caused Madison, while a very young man, to deplore what he called that “diabolical hell-conceived principle of persecution.”

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 (Apr 1960). The Madison reference is in a letter to William Bradford (24 Jan 1774).

Black, Hugo -- Chambers v. Florida, 309 U.S. 227, 241 (1940) [majority opinion]

Dave — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 20:17:40 +0000

Today, as in ages past, we are not without tragic proof that the exalted power of some governments to punish manufactured crime dictatorially is the handmaid of tyranny. Under our constitutional system, courts stand against any winds that blow as havens of refuge for those who might otherwise suffer because they are helpless, weak, outnumbered, or because they are non-conforming victims of prejudice and public excitement. Due process of law, preserved for all by our Constitution, commands that no such practice as that disclosed by this record shall send any accused to his death. No higher duty, no more solemn responsibility, rests upon this Court, than that of translating into living law and maintaining this constitutional shield deliberately planned and inscribed for the benefit of every human being subject to our Constitution — of whatever race, creed or persuasion.

Hugo Black (1886-1971) American politician and jurist, US Supreme Court Justice (1937-71)
Chambers v. Florida, 309 U.S. 227, 241 (1940) [majority opinion]
(Source)

Finding coerced confessions that led to the death penalty conviction of four Black men in Florida were a violation of the Due Process clause of the 14th Amendment.

O'Connor, Sandra Day -- McCreary County v. American Civil Liberties Union, 545 U.S. 844 (2005) [concurring]

Dave — Tue, 10 May 2022 19:22:14 +0000

It is true that many Americans find the Commandments in accord with their personal beliefs. But we do not count heads before enforcing the First Amendment.

Sandra Day O'Connor (b. 1930) American attorney, politician, Supreme Court justice (1981-2006)
McCreary County v. American Civil Liberties Union, 545 U.S. 844 (2005) [concurring]
(Source)

Declaring Ten Commandments displays in two Kentucky county courthouses to be unconstitutional.

Mill, John Stuart -- On Liberty, ch. 3 “Of Individuality, as One of the Elements of Well-Being” (1859)

Dave — Wed, 23 Feb 2022 14:44:19 +0000

Precisely because the tyranny of opinion is such as to make eccentricity a reproach, it is desirable, in order to break through that tyranny, that people should be eccentric. Eccentricity has always abounded when and where strength of character has abounded; and the amount of eccentricity in a society has generally been proportional to the amount of genius, mental vigor, and more courage it contained. That so few dare to be eccentric marks the chief danger of the time.

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) English philosopher and economist
On Liberty, ch. 3 “Of Individuality, as One of the Elements of Well-Being” (1859)
(Source)

Esteron, Yoel -- “Who’s for destroying democracy?” Ynetnews (14 Feb 2016)

Dave — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 21:47:27 +0000

Do nine tenants in a residential building have the right to place the dumpsters in front of the tenth tenant’s door? Seemingly, they enjoy a clear majority. But the role of democracy is not only to assure the governance of the majority, but to protect the rights of the minority.

Yoel Esteron (b. 1956) Israeli journalist, publisher
“Who’s for destroying democracy?” Ynetnews (14 Feb 2016)
(Source)

Frye, Northrop -- The Educated Imagination, Talk 6 “The Vocation of Eloquence” (1963)

Dave — Tue, 18 Jan 2022 16:10:14 +0000

There can be no free speech in a mob: free speech is one thing a mob can’t stand.

Northrop Frye (1912-1991) Canadian literary critic and literary theorist
The Educated Imagination, Talk 6 “The Vocation of Eloquence” (1963)
(Source)

Pinker, Steven -- Introduction to John Brockman (ed.), What is Your Dangerous Idea? (2007)

Dave — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 19:24:37 +0000

Many of our moral and political policies are designed to preempt what we know to be the worst features of human nature. The checks and balances in a democracy, for instance, were invented in explicit recognition of the fact that human leaders will always be tempted to arrogate power to themselves. Likewise, our sensitivity to racism comes from an awareness that groups of humans, left to their own devices, are apt to discriminate and oppress other groups, often in ugly ways. History also tells us that a desire to enforce dogma and suppress heretics is a recurring human weakness, one that has led to recurring waves of gruesome oppression and violence. A recognition that there is a bit of Torquemada in everyone should make us wary of any attempt to enforce a consensus or demonize those who challenge it.

Steven Pinker (b. 1954) Canadian-American cognitive psychologist, linguist, author
Introduction to John Brockman (ed.), What is Your Dangerous Idea? (2007)
(Source)

Acton, John Dalberg (Lord) -- “Review of Sir Erskine May’s Democracy in Europe,” The Quarterly Review (1878-01)

Dave — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 16:17:42 +0000

The true democratic principle, that none shall have power over the people, is taken to mean that none shall be able to restrain or to elude its power. The true democratic principle, that the people shall not be made to do what it does not like, is taken to mean that it shall never be required to tolerate what it does not like. The true democratic principle, that every man’s free will shall be as unfettered as possible, is taken to mean that the free will of the collective people shall be fettered in nothing.

John Dalberg, Lord Acton (1834-1902) British historian, politician, writer
“Review of Sir Erskine May’s Democracy in Europe,” The Quarterly Review (1878-01)
(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)

Jillette, Penn -- “I don’t know, so I’m an atheist libertarian,” Interview, CNN (16 Aug 2011)

Dave — Thu, 13 May 2021 16:03:33 +0000

Democracy without respect for individual rights sucks. It’s just ganging up against the weird kid, and I’m always the weird kid.

Penn Jillette (b. 1955) American stage magician, actor, musician, author
“I don’t know, so I’m an atheist libertarian,” Interview, CNN (16 Aug 2011)

Acton, John Dalberg (Lord) -- “Review of Sir Erskine May’s Democracy in Europe,” The Quarterly Review (1878-01)

Dave — Thu, 14 May 2020 21:09:15 +0000

The one pervading evil of democracy is the tyranny of the majority, or rather of that party, not always the majority, that succeeds, by force or fraud, in carrying elections.

John Dalberg, Lord Acton (1834-1902) British historian, politician, writer
“Review of Sir Erskine May’s Democracy in Europe,” The Quarterly Review (1878-01)
(Source)

Taft, William -- Veto Statement for the Arizona Enabling Act (15 Aug 1911)

Dave — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 18:06:11 +0000

No honest, clear-headed man, however great a lover of popular government, can deny that the unbridled expression of the majority of a community converted hastily into law or action would sometimes make a government tyrannical and cruel. Constitutions are checks upon the hasty action of the majority. They are the self-imposed restraints of a whole people upon a majority of them to secure sober action and a respect for the rights of the minority.

William Howard Taft (1857-1930) US President (1909-13) and Chief Justice (1921-1930)
Veto Statement for the Arizona Enabling Act (15 Aug 1911)
(Source)

Taft vetoed the admission of Arizona to the US with a state constitution that allowed popular recall of judges.

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

Dave — Mon, 20 Nov 2017 17:33:03 +0000

Conscience and the press ought to be unrestrained, not because men have a right to deviate from the exact line that duty prescribes, but because society, the aggregate of individuals, has no right to assume the prerogative of an infallible judge, and to undertake authoritatively to prescribe to its members in matters of pure speculation.

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

Inge, William Ralph -- “Our Present Discontents,” Outspoken Essays: First Series (1919)

Dave — Mon, 23 Nov 2015 16:10:57 +0000

No one can govern who cannot afford to be unpopular, and no democratic official can afford to be unpopular. Sometimes he has to wink at flagrant injustice and oppression; at other times a fanatical agitation compels him to pass laws which forbid the citizen to indulge perfectly harmless tastes, or tax him to contribute to the pleasures of the majority.

William Ralph Inge (1860-1954) English prelate [Dean Inge]
“Our Present Discontents,” Outspoken Essays: First Series (1919)

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

Dave — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 12:34:57 +0000

By liberty I mean the assurance that every man shall be protected in doing what he believes his duty against the influence of authority and majorities, custom and opinion. The State is competent to assign duties and draw the line between good and evil only in its immediate sphere. Beyond the limits of things necessary for its well-being, it can only give indirect help to fight the battle of life by promoting the influences which prevail against temptation, — religion, education, and the distribution of wealth.

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

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

Dave — Tue, 18 Feb 2014 14:50:18 +0000

It is bad to be oppressed by a minority, but it is worse to be oppressed by a majority. For there is a reserve of latent power in the masses which, if it is called into play, the minority can seldom resist.

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

Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1803-04-19) to Edward Dowse

Dave — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 12:49:16 +0000

I never will, by any word or act, bow to the shrine of intolerance, or admit a right of enquiry into the religious opinions of others. on the contrary we are bound, you, I, & every one, to make common cause, even with error itself, to maintain the common right of freedom of conscience. we ought with one heart and one hand to hew down the daring and dangerous efforts of those who would seduce the public opinion to substitute itself into that tyranny over religious faith which the laws have so justly abdicated.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Letter (1803-04-19) to Edward Dowse
(Source)

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Trial of C.B. Reynolds for blasphemy (May 1887)

Dave — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:13:12 +0000

What is blasphemy? I will give you a definition; I will give you my thought upon this subject. What is real blasphemy?
To live on the unpaid labor of other men — that is blasphemy.
To enslave your fellow-man, to put chains upon his body — that is blasphemy.
To enslave the minds of men, to put manacles upon the brain, padlocks upon the lips — that is blasphemy.
To deny what you believe to be true, to admit to be true what you believe to be a lie — that is blasphemy.
To strike the weak and unprotected, in order that you may gain the applause of the ignorant and superstitious mob — that is blasphemy.
To persecute the intelligent few, at the command of the ignorant many — that is blasphemy.
To forge chains, to build dungeons, for your honest fellow-men — that is blasphemy.
To pollute the souls of children with the dogma of eternal pain — that is blasphemy.
To violate your conscience — that is blasphemy.
The jury that gives an unjust verdict, and the judge who pronounces an unjust sentence, are blasphemers.
The man who bows to public opinion against his better judgment and against his honest conviction, is a blasphemer.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Trial of C.B. Reynolds for blasphemy (May 1887)
(Source)

Tocqueville, Alexis de -- Democracy in America, Vol. 1, ch. 15 (1835)

Dave — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 12:24:56 +0000

In America the majority raises formidable barriers around the liberty of opinion; within these barriers an author may write what he pleases, but woe to him if he goes beyond them.

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) French writer, diplomat, politician
Democracy in America, Vol. 1, ch. 15 (1835)

Jackson, Robert H. -- American Communications Assn. v. Douds, 339 U.S. 382, 442 (1950) [concurrence and dissent]

Dave — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:55:35 +0000

Progress generally begins in skepticism about accepted truths. Intellectual freedom means the right to reexamine much that has been long taken for granted. A free man must be a reasoning man, and he must dare to doubt what a legislative or electoral majority may most passionately assert. The danger that citizens will think wrongly is serious, but less dangerous than atrophy from not thinking at all.

Robert H. Jackson (1892-1954) US Supreme Court Justice (1941-54), lawyer, jurist, politician
American Communications Assn. v. Douds, 339 U.S. 382, 442 (1950) [concurrence and dissent]
(Source)

Cooper, James Fenimore -- “On the Disadvantages of Democracy,” The American Democrat (1838)

Dave — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:30:23 +0000

It is the besetting vice of democracies to substitute public opinion for law. This is the usual form in which masses of men exhibit their tyranny.

James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) American novelist
“On the Disadvantages of Democracy,” The American Democrat (1838)

Bukowski, Charles -- Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions and Tales of Ordinary Madness (1972)

Dave — Wed, 16 May 2007 19:42:50 +0000

The difference between a Democracy and a Dictatorship is that in a Democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a Dictatorship you don’t have to waste your time voting.

Charles Bukowski (1920-1994) German-American author, poet
Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions and Tales of Ordinary Madness (1972)
(Source)

Warren, Jim -- (Attributed)

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

The first measure of a free society is NOT that its government performs the will of the majority. That’s what we had in 1930s Germany, 1950s Georgia, and 1980s Iran. The FIRST measure of a free society is that its government protects the just freedoms of its minorities AGAINST the preferences, will and caprice of the majority.

Jim Warren (b. 1936) American mathematician, computer scientist, journalist, activist
(Attributed)

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

Lee, Harper -- To Kill a Mockingbird, ch. 11 (1960)

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

“They’re certainly entitled to think that, and they’re entitled to full respect for their opinions,” said Atticus, “but before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.”

Harper Lee (1926-2016) American writer [Nellie Harper Lee]
To Kill a Mockingbird, ch. 11 (1960)
(Source)

Housman, A. E. -- Last Poems, No. 12, ll. 15-18 (1922)

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

And how am I to face the odds
Of man’s bedevilment and God’s?
I, a stranger and afraid
In a world I never made.

A. E. Housman (1859-1936) English scholar and poet [Alfred Edward Housman]
Last Poems, No. 12, ll. 15-18 (1922)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 9 “Fear of Public Opinion” (1930)

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

One should respect public opinion insofar as is necessary to avoid starvation and keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 9 “Fear of Public Opinion” (1930)
(Source)

Adams, John -- Letter (1815-11-13) to Thomas Jefferson

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

The fundamental Article of my political Creed is, that Despotism, or unlimited Sovereignty, or absolute Power is the Same in a Majority of a popular Assembly, an Aristocratical Counsel, an Oligarchical Junto and a Single Emperor. Equally arbitrary cruel bloody and in every respect, diabolical.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Letter (1815-11-13) to Thomas Jefferson
(Source)