Melians Quote

“It may be your intent to be our masters; how can it be ours to be your slaves?”

~ Melians

Melians to Athenians, Peloponnesian War, 431 BC, ref: Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War

Ratings and Comments


E Archer, NYC

Consider that the 'enemy' of any camp truly believes this -- too...

Me, Augusta, GA

The epitome of wishful thinking creates the "wish" of those enslaved to be such; Those perceived as weak must desire someone to own them and instruct them how to live. Happens whenever convenient, and all too frequently.

M, Augusta, GA

Bloody 'ell. Forgot to rate again.

Elce, Chicago

A quote well to remember.

Reb, Jerusalem

How? Self-delusion. Witness Europes mass surrender to the forces of Islam. Before they know it. Europeans will all be slaves to the camel jockeys. As a Jew, I'm not unhappy about it. It is their just desserts.

warren, olathe

In ancient times in Israel slaves were in bondage for seven years. After the seven were up the slave was given the choice of freedom or permanent bondage. Hard to believe but many actually would choose the bondage. Their prospects must have been really bad or their treatment while slaves really good to make what seems to us a stupid choice. Guess people often choose security over freedom. Come to think of it, people vote for that very thing today considering the last congressional election.

warren, olathe

Europe is surrendering because they have a delusion that if they do not anger Islam that Islam will not hurt them. That is the mindset of all socialist leaning thinking. Gee they hate us, gee what did we do, and Gee must have done something wrong. Must be our fault. If the world does not wake up soon about what is going on and forget the political correctness that is destroying us, we will find out what bondage, tyranny, and persecution is all about. That is assuming that we live long enough to find out.

Anonymous

Security, as it stands, is already bondage. Our schools don't teach much. They sure don't teach critical thinking or history with any accuracy. I think it was Ben Franklin who said "those willing to trade liberty for security deserve neither one" and he was right. We ARE being enslaved...by the Globalists. Always remember good citizens War is Peace. Ignorance is Strength. Oue ignorance is the governments strength that is....

warren, olathe

Yep Anonymous that is true. When security goes up freedom goes down. The trick is to understand the value of each and how much of a trade off is necessary in a given situation. It is also important to make sure that the tradeoff is not permanent. Socialist "solutions" to any problem is always permanent and always the worst possible path to take. Their "solutions' are always designed to take the liberty while not offering any real solution. Usually the "solution" is engineered to make the problem worse so as to necessitate more "solutions"

Bucky
  • Reply
Bucky    10/11/07

Warren, it's wasn't a "Socialist" government that created Homeland Security, the Guantanamo Bay prison or wants unlimited rights ot tap your phone. Politicians of all stripes have learned that the Public will vote for someone who promises to protect them when they feel threatened. So they build up the threat in the media and enact laws and rules that erode our freedom. Should anyone question the need for these laws or restrictions the politicians claim they've done a great job, because nothings happened! Personally I'm willing to accept the risk if the alternative is the all-intrusive system that we have now.

Mike, Norwalk

To give the quote less than 5 stars I give the US as an example: It seems a majority of 'We The People' have rejected the freedom of a 'Guaranteed Republic' for slavery; i.e. compelled compliance, license, mandatory extraction of the laborer's fruits, victimless crimes, acceptance of torture for information extraction, the Patriot Act, lack of habeas corpus, an exponential loss of the freedoms of religion, speech and arms, a forth branch of government (media) only reporting what is politically approved by the power mongers, the executive, legislative and judicial branches all being corrupt and acting outside their designated boundaries, etc., etc., etc. It is my intent to be a free man, with a free family, no matter what the neo-cons, fascists, socialists, or rest may do.

warren, olathe

I was not talking about Homeland security when talking about socialists. A good socialist would never lift a finger to protect this country. He wants to destroy it. Changing it to socialism is in fact destroying it by the way. My point is that every thing a socialist is successful in imposing on us is an affront to liberty and freedom. That is the true enemy with in that we need to look out for. All this hype about Guantanamo Bay, Homeland Security, and so forth is helping the socialist agenda to take our eye off the ball so we do not notice the infinitely more dangerous things they want to slide by us in congress. Luckily so far they are so inept that they have accomplished nothing. Partly because of the internet and radio. That is why they are frantic about shutting these things down. They seem to not even be able to get away with a lie and smear campaign recently. They are desperate to eliminate any voice that is not in lock step with them. A few years ago they would have gotten away with it. Thank god it has gotten harder for them. Hope it keeps getting harder till everyone starts to see them for what they are. Taping your phone I guess was ok when Bill Clinton did it. He had this same program during his presidency and his predecessor merely continued it. Of course he didn't use it to data mine foreign calls to and from terrorist, he used it to gather information to give his big contributors in the corporate world to help them compete with other corporations that wee not big contributors. That of course is ok. As long as it isn't for national security reasons it must be ok.

Dave Wilber, St. Louis MO

Can there be masters with no slaves? President James A.Garfield was shot shortly after he said, "Whoever controls the volume of money in any country (or world) is absolute master of all commerce and industry." Private foreign bankers spuriously called the "Federal Reserve" tell us on page 3, Modern Money Mechanics, that they control the volume of money. They admt there that they operate a confidence game and that the history of bavnking is a history of fraud. Their admission means little if less that one per cent read it and the few who recite it are ridiculed. You say you don't feel like a slave? Your masters love that! They want us all amused, confused and defused.

Ken, Allyn, WA

People volunteer for slavery every day. It is easy to be a slave. It takes work to be free. Every time someone collects a welfare check, sign up for a government program, bend to the will of some bureaucrat making regulations, they choose slavery. The masters can buy servitude from the slave himself.

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