Category: Quote of the Week

“Hinc quam sic calamus sævior ense, patet.” (Translated: “The pen worse than the sword.”) – Robert Burton (1576-1640) Anatomy of Melancholy. Part I. Sect. 2, Memb. 4, Subsect. 4.

“Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political; peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations,—entangling alliances with none; the support of the State governments in all their rights, as the most competent administrations for our domestic concerns, and the surest bulwarks against anti-republican tendencies; the preservation of the general government in its whole constitutional vigour, as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety abroad; . . . . freedom of religion; freedom of the press; freedom of person under the protection of the habeas corpus; and trial by juries …

“But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore …

“He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.”  – Isaiah 33: 15-17 (KJV)

“Whenever legislators endeavor to take away and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any further obedience.” – John Locke

“L’immoralitè est la base du despotisme comme la ventu est l’essence de la Rèpublique.” (Translated: “Wickedness is the root of despotism as virtue is the essence of the Republic.”) – Maximilien Robespierre (1758-94) In the Convention, 7 May 1794, as cited by A. Cobban, in: ‘Aspects of the French Revolution’ (1968)    

“Liberty is liberty, not equality or fairness or justice or human happiness or a quiet conscience.” – Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997), from ‘Two Concepts of Liberty’ (1958) p. 10

“Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.” – Francis Bacon, ‘Essays’ (1625) ‘Of Studies’”

“The barbarians are not at the gates. They are inside the gates and have academic tenure, judicial appointments, government grants, and control of the movies, television, and other media.” – Thomas Sowell

“Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be …

“Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; …

“There has been one rebellion. That comes to one rebellion in a century and a half for each state. What country before ever existed a century and a half without a rebellion? And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms.” – Thomas Jefferson, Letter to William Smith, Paris, November 13, 1787

“Conquering kings their titles take From the foes they captive make: Jesu, by a nobler deed, From the thousands He hath freed.” – John Chandler (1806-1876), from ‘Hymns Ancient and Modern’ (translated from Latin)

“When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.” – Edmund Burke, from ‘Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents’ (1770) p. 71

“If the Government is big enough to give you everything you want, it is big enough to take away everything you have.” – Gerald Ford, from ‘If Elected’ (1960) p. 193