#freedom

The only way to make a library safe is to lock people out of it. As long as they are allowed to read the books 'any old time they have a mind to,' libraries will remain the nurseries of heresy and independence of thought. They will, in fact, preserve that freedom which is a far more important part of our lives than any ideology or orthodoxy, the freedom that dissolves orthodoxies and inspires solutions to the ever-changing challenges of the future. I hope that your library and mine will continue in this way to be dangerous for many years to come. ↗

— Edmund S. Morgan

#freedom #ideas #libraries #thought #change

Neither fear nor self-interest can convert the soul. They may change the appearance, perhaps even the conduct, but never the object of supreme desire... Fear is the motive which constrains the slave; greed binds the selfish man, by which he is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed (James 1:14). But neither fear nor self-interest is undefiled, nor can they convert the soul. Only charity can convert the soul, freeing it from unworthy motives. ↗

— Bernard of Clairvaux

#christianity #conversion #divine #divinity #fear

The paradox of vengefulness is that it makes men dependent upon those who have harmed them, believing that their release from pain will come only when they make their tormentors suffer. In seeking the Bird's death to free himself, Louie had chained himself, once again, to his tyrant. During the war, the Bird had been unwilling to let go of Louie; after the war, Louie was unable to let go of the Bird. ↗

— Laura Hillenbrand

#freedom #hatred #death

The scientist seeks laws; the historian, causes; the artist, freedom. ↗

— Marty Rubin

#freedom #art

When one makes a Revolution, one cannot mark time; one must always go forward - or go back. He who now talks about the "freedom of the press" goes backward, and halts our headlong course towards Socialism. ↗

— Vladimir Lenin

#always #back #backward #cannot #course

If we wish to free ourselves from enslavement, we must choose freedom and the responsibility this entails. ↗

— Leo Buscaglia

#enslavement #entails #free #freedom #must

Freedom of religion is a principle that is central to our Nation's Declaration of Independence. Congress has taken this positive step to protect our freedom to express allegiance to America's flag and the ideals it represents. ↗

— Ron Lewis

#america #central #congress #declaration #express

Power in defense of freedom is greater than power in behalf of tyranny and oppression. ↗

— Malcolm X

#defense #freedom #greater #oppression #power

Let freedom reign. The sun never set on so glorious a human achievement. ↗

— Nelson Mandela

#freedom #glorious #human #never #reign

Where globalization means, as it so often does, that the rich and powerful now have new means to further enrich and empower themselves at the cost of the poorer and weaker, we have a responsibility to protest in the name of universal freedom. ↗

— Nelson Mandela

#does #empower #enrich #freedom #further