“It cannot but happen…that those will survive whose functions happen to be most nearly in equilibrium with the modified aggregate of external forces…This survival of the fittest implies multiplication of the fittest.” – Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), from Principles of Biology (1865)
“For a man’s house is his castle, et domus sua cuique est tutissimum refugium [and each man’s home is his safest refuge].” – Sir Edward Coke, The Third Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England (1628) Chapter 73, p. 162
“And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick? For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he …
“And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep. And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. So I answered and spake to the angel that talked …
“When the people contend for their liberty, they seldom get anything by their victory but new masters.” – George Savile, Marquis of Halifax 1633-1695, from Political, Moral, and Miscellaneous Thoughts and Reflections
“None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but licence.” – John Milton 1608-1674, from: The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates (1649)
“You only have power over people as long as you don’t take everything away from them. But when you’ve robbed a man of everything he’s no longer in your power—he’s free again.” – Aleksander Solzhenitsyn, from The First Circle, 1968, Chapter 17
“If a sovereign oppresses his people to a great degree, they will rise and cut off his head. There is a remedy in human nature against tyranny, that will keep us safe under every form of government.” – Samuel Jonson
“It is a popular delusion that the government wastes vast amounts of money through inefficiency and sloth. Enormous effort and elaborate planning are required to waste this much money.” – P.J. O’Rourke
“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith …
“Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment. How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the …
“The second item in the liberal creed, after self-righteousness, is unaccountability. Liberals have invented whole college majors–psychology, sociology, women’s studies–to prove that nothing is anybody’s fault. No one is fond of taking responsibility for his actions, but consider how much you’d have to hate free will to come up with a political platform that advocates killing unborn babies but not convicted murderers. A callous pragmatist might favor abortion and capital punishment. A devout Christian would sanction neither. But it takes years of therapy to arrive at the liberal view.” – P.J. O’Rourke, Give War a Chance
“Man, biologically considered, and whatever else he may be into the bargain, is simply the most formidable of all the beasts of prey, and, indeed, the only one that preys systematically on its own species.” – William James (1842-1910), in the Atlantic Monthly, December 1904, p. 84
“As it will be the right of all, so it will be the duty of some, definitely to prepare for a separation, amicably if they can, violently if they must.” – Josiah Quincy (1772-1864) — Abridgement of Debates of Congress vol. 4, p. 327, 14 January 1811
“The grass will grow in the streets of a hundred cities, a thousand towns.” – President Herbert Hoover, from a speech given on 31 October 1932. (as quoted in ‘State Papers of Herbert Hoover’ (1934) vol. 2, p. 418, commenting on proposals ‘to reduce the protective tariff to a competitive tariff for revenue’.)
