
“English Aphorists,” p. 123
Reperusals and Recollections (1936)
The Decorative Arts (1877)
“English Aphorists,” p. 123
Reperusals and Recollections (1936)
“Freedom is a dangerous intoxicant and very few people can tolerate it in any quantity”
The Never-Ending Wrong (1977)
Context: Anarchy had been a word of fear in many countries for a long time, nowhere more so than in this one; nothing in that time, not even the word "Communism," struck such terror, anger, and hatred into the popular mind; and nobody seemed to understand exactly what Anarchy as a political idea meant any more than they understood Communism, which has muddied the waters to the point that it sometimes calls itself Socialism, at other times Democracy, or even in its present condition, the Republic. Fascism, Nazism, new names for very ancient evil forms of government — tyranny and dictatorship — came into fashion almost at the same time with Communism; at least the aims of those two were clear enough; at least their leaders made no attempt to deceive anyone as to their intentions. But Anarchy had been here all the nineteenth century, with its sinister offspring Nihilism, and it is a simple truth that the human mind can face better the most oppressive government, the most rigid restrictions, than the awful prospect of a lawless, frontierless world. Freedom is a dangerous intoxicant and very few people can tolerate it in any quantity; it brings out the old raiding, oppressing, murderous instincts; the rage for revenge, for power, the lust for bloodshed. The longing for freedom takes the form of crushing the enemy — there is always the enemy! — into the earth; and where and who is the enemy if there is no visible establishment to attack, to destroy with blood and fire? Remember all that oratory when freedom is threatened again. Freedom, remember, is not the same as liberty.
“I don't want to create a revolution — I just want to create a few more films.”
In response to journalist for comments on United States Attorney-General's announcement to revoke his re-entry visa, Cherbourg, England, as quoted in "Mr. Chaplin's Defense", The Guardian (23 September 1952)
Context: I am not a political man and I have no political convictions. I am an individual and a believer in liberty. That is all the politics I have. On the other hand I am not a super-patriot. Super-patriotism leads to Hitlerism — and we've had our lesson there. I don't want to create a revolution — I just want to create a few more films.
Wall and Piece (2005)
2013, Second Inaugural Address (January 2013)
Context: We do not believe that in this country freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us at any time may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other through Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security, these things do not sap our initiative, they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.
“I just want to swing a few lefts and a few rights for a couple of hundred mill in peace.”
Twitter post https://twitter.com/TheNotoriousMMA/status/659853813403295746 (29 October 2015)
2010s, 2015
“I want to plant a few more seeds here and there before they plant me.”
After aborting plans to raid Fort Detroit due to a lack of enlistments (1779), quoted in [Wilson, George R., Thornbrough, Gayle, The Buffalo Trace, Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis, 1946, Indiana Historical Society Publications, volume 15, number 2, 189]