“Is there no danger to liberty itself, in discarding the earliest practice, and first precept of our ancient faith?”

— Abraham Lincoln

1850s, Speech at Peoria, Illinois (1854) <br class="br">Context: Already the liberal party throughout the world, express the apprehension “ that the one retrograde institution in America, is undermining the principles of progress, and fatally violating the noblest political system the world ever saw. http://mcdaniel.blogs.rice.edu/?p=126” This is not the taunt of enemies, but the warning of friends. Is it quite safe to disregard it — to despise it? Is there no danger to liberty itself, in discarding the earliest practice, and first precept of our ancient faith? In our greedy chase to make profit of the negro, let us beware, lest we “cancel and tear to pieces” even the white man's charter of freedom.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Oct. 1, 2023. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Is there no danger to liberty itself, in discarding the earliest practice, and first precept of our ancient faith?" by Abraham Lincoln?

Abraham Lincoln618

16th President of the United States 1809–1865

Related quotes

“Ours was the first society openly to define itself in terms of both spirituality and of human liberty.”

Jimmy Carter (1924) American politician, 39th president of the United States (in office from 1977 to 1981)

It is that unique self-definition which has given us an exceptional appeal, but it also imposes on us a special obligation, to take on those moral duties which, when assumed, seem invariably to be in our own best interests.
Presidency (1977–1981), Inaugural Address (1977)

“Religious faith and its practice cannot be taken for granted and we must be resolved in our defense of our cherished freedom to practice our faith, especially in the context of a secular culture which many times is opposed to its basic beliefs. History has witnessed many instances of blatant disregard for religious liberty which has resulted in devastating persecution.”

Gerald Barbarito (1950) Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach, Florida

Source: This 'Fortnight for Freedom' https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/column/52207/this-fortnight-for-freedom (28 June 2012)

“Machiavel's The Prince is to ethics what the work of Spinoza is to faith. Spinoza sapped the fundamentals of faith, and drained the spirit of religion; Machiavel corrupted policy, and undertook to destroy the precepts of healthy morals: the errors of the first were only errors of speculation, but those of the other had a practical thrust. […] I always have regarded The Prince as one of the most dangerous works which were spread in the world; it is a book which falls naturally into the hands of princes, and of those who have a taste for policy. […] There is a real injustice in concluding that the rotten apples are representative of all of them.”

Frederick II of Prussia book Anti-Machiavel

Foreword
Anti-Machiavel

“I feel as if I am practicing some precise psychological art, one that is ancient and poorly understood in our culture; or as if I'm learning a psychological science that helps me map the contours of consciousness itself.”

Jane Roberts (1929–1984) American Writer

Source: The God of Jane: A Psychic Manifesto (1981), p. 4
Context: I don't feel "possessed" or "invaded during sessions. I don't feel that some superspirit has "taken over" my body. Instead I feel as if I am practicing some precise psychological art, one that is ancient and poorly understood in our culture; or as if I'm learning a psychological science that helps me map the contours of consciousness itself.

“The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern. The law of liberty tends to abolish the reign of race over race, of faith over faith, of class over class.”

John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton (1834–1902) British politician and historian

1880s, Letter to Mary Gladstone (1881)

“The harm, as I’ve said repeatedly, comes not from the existence of religion itself, but from its reliance on and glorification of faith—belief, or, if you will, “trust” or “confidence”—without supporting evidence. And faith, as employed in religion (and in most other areas), is a danger to both science and society. The danger to science is in how faith warps the public understanding of science: by arguing, for instance, that science is based just as strongly on faith as is religion; by claiming that revelation or the guidance of ancient books is just as reliable a guide to truth about our universe as are the tools of science; by thinking that an adequate explanation can be based on what is personally appealing rather than on what stands the test of empirical study.”

Jerry Coyne book Faith vs. Fact: Why Science and Religion are Incompatible

Source: Faith vs. Fact (2015), pp. 225-226

“Faith is the surrender of the mind; it's the surrender of reason, it's the surrender of the only thing that makes us different from other mammals. It's our need to believe, and to surrender our skepticism and our reason, our yearning to discard that and put all our trust or faith in someone or something, that is the sinister thing to me. Of all the supposed virtues, faith must be the most overrated.”

Christopher Hitchens (1949–2011) British American author and journalist

2005-05-23
Penn & Teller: Bullshit!
season 3 episode 5
Holier Than Thou
Television
2000s, 2005

“Those who practice without keeping the precepts set out by the Buddha all represent the False Dharma. The reason for this [is as follows:] Although practices such as chanting the nembutsu, seated meditation, and reciting the sutras are each practiced differently depending on the abilities of the believer, the precepts against taking life, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and the like are absolute, regardless of the sect. Not to keep them is unacceptable. Therefore these precepts are called “absolutes.””

Tetsugen Doko (1630–1682) Japanese Zen Master

An Affidavit Concerning the Dharma Debate in Mori,; as quoted in: Helen J. Baroni. Iron Eyes: The Life And Teachings of Obaku Zen Master Tetsugen Doko. 2006. p. 29.

“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.”

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) 3rd President of the United States of America

“Its first ethical precept is the identity of means used and aims sought. The ultimate end of all revolutionary social change is to establish the sanctity of human life, the dignity of man, the right of every human being to liberty and wellbeing.”

Emma Goldman book My Disillusionment in Russia

My Disillusionment in Russia (1923)
Context: Its first ethical precept is the identity of means used and aims sought. The ultimate end of all revolutionary social change is to establish the sanctity of human life, the dignity of man, the right of every human being to liberty and wellbeing. Unless this be the essential aim of revolution, violent social changes would have no justification. For external social alterations can be, and have been, accomplished by the normal processes of evolution. Revolution, on the contrary, signifies not mere external change, but internal, basic, fundamental change. That internal change of concepts and ideas, permeating ever-larger social strata, finally culminates in the violent upheaval known as revolution.

“Is there no danger to liberty itself, in discarding the earliest practice, and first precept of our ancient faith?”

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Abraham Lincoln618

Related quotes

Related topics