Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Comment on this quote Share via Email Print this Page [301-320] of 471 Independence quotesIndependence QuotesIndependence Previous 20 quotes Next 20 quotes It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.~ Herman Melville To act without clear understanding, to form habits without investigation, to follow a path all one's life without knowing where it really leads -- such is the behavior of the multitude.~ Mencius The most dangerous man, to any government, is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost invariably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane and intolerable, and so, if he is romantic, he tries to change it. And if he is not romantic personally, he is apt to spread discontent among those who are.~ H. L. Mencken The most dangerous man, to any government, is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to prevailing superstition or taboo.~ H. L. Mencken The state remains, as it was in the beginning, the common enemy of all well-disposed, industrious and decent men.~ H. L. Mencken That erroneous assumption is to the effect that the aim of public education is to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence, and so make them fit to discharge the duties of citizenship in an enlightened and independent manner. Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim of public education is not to spread enlightenment at all, it is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality. That is its aim in the United States, whatever the pretensions of politicians, pedagogues and other such mountebanks, and that is its aim everywhere else.~ H. L. Mencken I am beginning to realize that "sanity" is no longer a value or an end in itself. If modern people were a little less sane, a little more doubtful, a little more aware of their absurdities and contradictions, perhaps there might be the possibility of their survival.~ Thomas Merton Men and governments must act to the best of their ability. There is no such thing as absolute certainty but there is assurance sufficient for the purposes of human life.~ John Stuart Mill Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.~ John Stuart Mill The only part of the conduct of anyone for which he is amenable to society is that which concerns others. In the part which merely concerns himself, his independence is, of right, absolute. Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.~ John Stuart Mill The only freedom deserving the name, is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it. Each is the proper guardian of his own health, whether bodily, or mental and spiritual. Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves, than by compelling each to live as seems good to the rest.~ John Stuart Mill The worth of a state, in the long run, is the worth of the individuals composing it.~ John Stuart Mill No man is great enough or wise enough for any of us to surrender our destiny to. The only way in which anyone can lead us is to restore our belief in our own guidance.~ Henry Miller Utopians...consider individual freedom as the stumbling block on which the grandiose idea of mankind’s totalization may flounder.~ Thomas Molnar I believe more follies are committed out of complaisance to the world, than in following our own inclinations.~ Mary Wortley Montagu No one can be free unless he is independent... In reality, he who is served is limited in his independence...~ Maria Montessori We fought the Revolutionary War for no taxation without representation, it seems to me that we are much worse off today, because we are heavily taxed, and only the king's corporations control this Country, together with mob rule, of the special interests.~ James Montgomery If the American Revolution had produced nothing but the Declaration of Independence, it would have been worthwhile.... The beauty and cogency of the preamble, reaching back to remotest antiquity and forward to an infinite future, having lifted the hearts of millions of men and will continue to do.... These words are more revolutionary than anything written by Robespierre, Marx, or Lenin, more explosive than the atom, a continual challenge to ourselves as well as an inspiration to the oppressed of all the world.~ Samuel Eliot Morison If the American Revolution had produced nothing but the Declaration of Independence, it would have been worthwhile.~ Samuel Eliot Morison There is only one success: to be able to spend your life in your own way, and not to give others absurd maddening claims upon it.~ Christopher Darlington Morley Previous 20 quotes Next 20 quotes Share on Facebook Tweet Email Print