“When men yield up the exclusive privilege of thinking, the last shadow of liberty quits the horizon.”

— Thomas Paine

1770s, Common Sense (1776)

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 "When men yield up the exclusive privilege of thinking, the last shadow of liberty quits the horizon." by Thomas Paine?

Thomas Paine 262

English and American political activist 1737–1809

Related quotes

“Inspiration is not the exclusive privilege of poets or artists.”

Wisława Szymborska (1923–2012) Polish writer

The Poet and the World (1996)
Context: Inspiration is not the exclusive privilege of poets or artists. There is, there has been, there will always be a certain group of people whom inspiration visits. It's made up of all those who've consciously chosen their calling and do their job with love and imagination. It may include doctors, teachers, gardeners — I could list a hundred more professions. Their work becomes one continuous adventure as long as they manage to keep discovering new challenges in it. Difficulties and setbacks never quell their curiosity. A swarm of new questions emerges from every problem that they solve. Whatever inspiration is, it's born from a continuous "I don't know."

“Women will be no longer made the slaves of, or dependent upon men … They will be equal in education, rights, privileges and personal liberty.”

Robert Owen (1771–1858) Welsh social reformer

Sixth Part
The Book of the New Moral World (1836-1844)

“As a general rule, therefore, the lights and shadows of clouds near the horizon are less vivid than in clouds higher up. Exceptions to this rough rule will be found when the source of light is near the horizon, as in sunset and sunrise, also when there is a gathering of local stormclouds which may hover over the distance as a dark pall, when there is fair weather and light, transparent clouds near to us.”

Alfred Horsley Hinton (1863–1908) British photographer

Source: Practical Pictorial Photography, 1898, Perspective of clouds, p. 100

“I believe that liberty is the only genuinely valuable thing that men have invented, at least in the field of government, in a thousand years. I believe that it is better to be free than to be not free, even when the former is dangerous and the latter safe. I believe that the finest qualities of man can flourish only in free air – that progress made under the shadow of the policeman’s club is false progress, and of no permanent value. I believe that any man who takes the liberty of another into his keeping is bound to become a tyrant, and that any man who yields up his liberty, in however slight the measure, is bound to become a slave.”

H.L. Mencken (1880–1956) American journalist and writer

"Why Liberty?”, in the Chicago Tribune (30 January 1927)
1920s

“There is no longer any religion when there is no longer any privileged religion. Take from religion its exclusive power and it will no longer exist.”

Bruno Bauer book The Jewish Question

As quoted in Karl Marx's "The Jewish Question" by ; as translated in Karl Marx, Frederick Engels : Collected Works (1975) edited by International Publishers

“Liberty and conscience thus became a sacred part of human nature. Freedom not only to think, but to speak and act is a God-given privilege.”

David O. McKay (1873–1970) President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Improvement Era (October 1958) pp 718-719
Context: Next to life we express gratitude for the gift of free agency. When thou didst create man, thou placed within him part of thine omnipotence and bade him choose for himself. Liberty and conscience thus became a sacred part of human nature. Freedom not only to think, but to speak and act is a God-given privilege.

“That no man, or set of men, are entitled to exclusive or separate emoluments or privileges from the community, but in consideration of public services; which, not being descendible, neither ought the offices of magistrate, legislator, or judge to be hereditary.”

George Mason (1725–1792) American delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention

Article 4
Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776)

“The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield, and government to gain ground.”

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

Letter to Edward Carrington, Paris (27 May 1788) PTJ, 13:208-9 http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/natural-progress-things-quotation
1780s
Source: Letters of Thomas Jefferson

“Liberty is not merely a privilege to be conferred; it is a habit to be acquired.”

David Lloyd George (1863–1945) Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Speech in the House of Commons (10 May 1928)
Later life

“The object of liberty is to give men and women a chance to be their best selves. That is its first and last purpose.”

Dorothy Thompson (1893–1961) American journalist and radio broadcaster

Dorothy Thompson’s Political Guide: A Study of American Liberalism and its Relationship to Modern Totalitarian States (1938)
Source: A Study of American Liberalism and its Relationship to Modern Totalitarian States (1938)
p. 77

“When men yield up the exclusive privilege of thinking, the last shadow of liberty quits the horizon.”

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Thomas Paine 262

Related quotes

Related topics