John Stuart Mill book Autobiography
Source: Autobiography (1873), Ch. 7: General View of the Remainder of My Life (p. 167)
“What is liberal education,” p. 8
Liberalism Ancient and Modern (1968)
John Stuart Mill book Autobiography
Source: Autobiography (1873), Ch. 7: General View of the Remainder of My Life (p. 167)
“The measure may be thought bold, but I am of the opinion the boldest are the safest.”
Horatio Nelson (1758–1805) Royal Navy Admiral
Statement to Sir Hyde Parker urging vigorous action against the Russians and Danes (24 March 1801), quoted in "The Book of Military Quotations" by Peter G. Tsouras, p. 54
1800s
“Popular opinion is the greatest lie in the world.”
Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher
Joseph Priestley book An History of the Corruptions of Christianity
General Conclusions, Part I : Containing Considerations addressed to Unbelievers and especially to Mr. Gibbon
An History of the Corruptions of Christianity (1782)
William Lloyd Garrison (1805–1879) American journalist
Introductory Remarks
Thoughts on African Colonization (1832)
Context: Little boldness is needed to assail the opinions and practices of notoriously wicked men; but to rebuke great and good men for their conduct, and to impeach their discernment, is the highest effort of moral courage. The great mass of mankind shun the labor and responsibility of forming opinions for themselves. The question is not — what is true? but — what is popular? Not — what does God say? but — what says the public? Not — what is my opinion? but — what do others believe?
“When a person was so consistently wrong, it was time to give up having opinions.”
Charles Sheffield book Convergence
Source: The Heritage Universe, Convergence (1997), Chapter 23 (p. 488)
Michael Crichton (1942–2008) American author, screenwriter, film producer
"Mediasaurus: The decline of conventional media" http://www.crichton-official.com/speeches/speeches_quote02.html - Speech at the National Press Club, Washington D.C. (7 April 1993) <br class="br">Context: We are all assumed, these days, to reside at one extreme of the opinion spectrum, or another. We are pro-abortion or anti-abortion. We are free traders or protectionist. We are pro-private sector or pro-big government. We are feminists or chauvinists. But in the real world, few of us holds these extreme views. There is instead a spectrum of opinion.
José Ortega Y Gasset (1883–1955) Spanish liberal philosopher and essayist
Source: What is Philosophy? (1964), p. 15
Charles James Fox (1749–1806) British Whig statesman
Speech in the House of Commons (2 March 1790), quoted in Loren Reid, Charles James Fox: A Man for the People (1969), p. 261.
1790s