The essential characteristic of Western civilization that distinguishes it from the arrested and petrified civilizations of the East was and read more

The essential characteristic of Western civilization that distinguishes it from the arrested and petrified civilizations of the East was and is its concern for freedom from the state. The history of the West, from the age of the Greek polis down to the present-day resistance to socialism, is essentially the history of the fight for liberty against the encroachments of the officeholders.

To wage a war for a purely moral reason is as absurd as to ravish a woman for a purely read more

To wage a war for a purely moral reason is as absurd as to ravish a woman for a purely moral reason.

Ideology has very little to do with "consciousness" -- it is profoundly unconscious.

Ideology has very little to do with "consciousness" -- it is profoundly unconscious.

Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid read more

Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!

All revolutions...have been led by persons who knew oppression well, but not on their own skin.

All revolutions...have been led by persons who knew oppression well, but not on their own skin.

The right of bearing arms for a lawful purpose is not a right granted by the Constitution; neither is it read more

The right of bearing arms for a lawful purpose is not a right granted by the Constitution; neither is it in any manner dependent upon that instrument for its existence.

The ability to get along without an exceptional leader is the mark of social vigor.

The ability to get along without an exceptional leader is the mark of social vigor.

They say women talk too much. If you have worked in Congress you know that the filibuster was invented by read more

They say women talk too much. If you have worked in Congress you know that the filibuster was invented by men.

He is free who knows how to keep in his own hand the power to decide, at each step, the read more

He is free who knows how to keep in his own hand the power to decide, at each step, the course of his life, and who lives in a society which does not block the exercise of that power.