Those who see their lives as spoiled and wasted crave equality and fraternity more than they do freedom. If they clamor for freedom, it is but freedom to establish equality and uniformity. The passion for equality is partly a passion for anonymity: to be one thread of the many which make up a tunic; one thread not distinguishable from the others. No one can then point us out, measure us against others and expose our inferiority.
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The deadliest foe of democracy is not autocracy but liberty frenzied.
The deadliest foe of democracy is not autocracy but liberty frenzied.
I think most historians will agree that the part played by impulses of selfish, individual aggression in the holocausts of read more
I think most historians will agree that the part played by impulses of selfish, individual aggression in the holocausts of history was small; first and foremost, the slaughter was meant as an offering to the gods, to king and country, or the future happiness of mankind. The crimes of Caligula shrink to insignificance compared to the havoc wrought by Torquemada. The number of victims of robbers, highwaymen, rapists, gangsters and other criminals at any period of history is negligible compared to the massive numbers of those cheerfully slain in the name of the true religion, just policy, or correct ideology.
The glory of a nation and an age is always the work of a few great persons, and it disappears read more
The glory of a nation and an age is always the work of a few great persons, and it disappears with them.
The only way you can do that [decrease taxes, balance the budget, and increase military spending] is with mirrors, and read more
The only way you can do that [decrease taxes, balance the budget, and increase military spending] is with mirrors, and that's what it would take.
A billion here and a billion there, and soon you're talking about real money.
A billion here and a billion there, and soon you're talking about real money.
...this is precisely the purpose of censorship- not only to block unwanted views, but to keep people who are unhappy read more
...this is precisely the purpose of censorship- not only to block unwanted views, but to keep people who are unhappy from knowing how many millions of others share their unhappiness; to keep the dormant opposition from awakening to its own developing strength.
I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."N. B.: This read more
I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."N. B.: This quote is commonly attributed to Voltaire, but it is not found in his writing. - The Friends of Voltaire.
Habit is the denial of creativity and the negation of freedom; a self-imposed straitjacket of which the wearer is unaware.
Habit is the denial of creativity and the negation of freedom; a self-imposed straitjacket of which the wearer is unaware.
Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our read more
Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense?
