I would rather belong to a poor nation that was free than to a rich nation that had ceased to read more

I would rather belong to a poor nation that was free than to a rich nation that had ceased to be in love with liberty.

The love of liberty with life is given,
And life itself the inferior gift of Heaven.

The love of liberty with life is given,
And life itself the inferior gift of Heaven.

So free we seem, so fettered fast we are.

So free we seem, so fettered fast we are.

Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our read more

Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.

Eternal Spirit of the chainless Mind!
Brightest in dungeons, Liberty! thou art,
For there thy habitation is read more

Eternal Spirit of the chainless Mind!
Brightest in dungeons, Liberty! thou art,
For there thy habitation is the heart--
The heart which love of thee alone can bind;
And when thy sons to fetters are consign'd--
To fetters and damp vault's dayless gloom,
Their country conquers with their martyrdom.
- Lord Byron (George Gordon Noel Byron),

What light is to the eyes - what air is to the lungs - what love is to the heart, read more

What light is to the eyes - what air is to the lungs - what love is to the heart, liberty is to the soul of man.

Liberty is one of the most valuable blessings that Heaven has bestowed upon mankind.

Liberty is one of the most valuable blessings that Heaven has bestowed upon mankind.

As so often before, liberty has been wounded in the house of its
friends. Liberty in the wild and read more

As so often before, liberty has been wounded in the house of its
friends. Liberty in the wild and freakish hands of fanatics has
once more, as frequently in the past, proved the effective
helpmate of autocracy and the twin-brother of tyranny.

Liberty, as it is conceived by current opinion, has nothing inherent about it; it is a sort of gift or read more

Liberty, as it is conceived by current opinion, has nothing inherent about it; it is a sort of gift or trust bestowed on the individual by the state pending good behavior.