Disputed, Give me liberty, or give me death! (1775)
“It is natural for man to indulge in the illusions of hope and pride. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts.”
1770s, "Give me liberty, or give me death!" (1775)
Context: It is natural for man to indulge in the illusions of hope and pride. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Patrick Henry 43
attorney, planter, politician and Founding Father of the Un… 1736–1799Related quotes

“The painful truth is that while we might have the illusion, none of us are free.”
Source: Flesh and Fire (2009), p. 304

Music, from The Poetical Works of William Lisle Bowles, Vol. 1 - With Memoir, Critical Dissertation, and Explanatory Notes by George Gilfillan (1855).

"A Far Cry from Africa" (1962)
Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 14

“The Siren waits thee, singing song for song.”
To Robert Browning (1846).

Broadcast from 10 Downing Street, London (24 May 1927), quoted in Our Inheritance (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1938), p. 60.
1927

The Light of the Soul: Its Science and Effect: a paraphrase of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, with commentary by Alice A. Bailey, (1927)

The Light of the Soul: Its Science and Effect: a paraphrase of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, with commentary (1927)

The Gay Science (1882)