“Civilization.…
Like everything else, it has a price. The down payment is freedom. For the privilege of living together, men surrender the right to do as they please; they make laws and restrict themselves within them.
When civilization is conferred from outside, the price is even steeper: someone else makes the laws.”

Source: Star Bridge (1955), “The History,” prelude to Chapter 3, “The Narrow Bridge” (p. 37)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Jan. 27, 2022. History

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Jack Williamson5

American science fiction writer 1908–2006

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Jack Williamson5

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