Famous Quotations / Quotes
Famous Quotes
 
 Click on the name to open the full quote and the details about the quote's origin. Quotes are also grouped by Category and Author.  
 


The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
A classic since 1953 with over 20,000 quotes from over 3,000 authors.


Famous Last Words
Apt Observations, Pleas, Curses, Benedictions, Sour Notes, Bons Mots, and Insights from People on the Brink of Departure


Stretch Your Wings
Famous Black Quotations for the Young


American Quotations
An exhaustive collection of profound quotes from the founding fathers, presidents, statesmen, scientists, constitutions, court decisions


The Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations


Last Words of Saints and Sinners
700 Final Quotes from the Famous, the Infamous, and the Inspiring Figures of History


America's God and Country: Encyclopedia of Quotations
Contains over 2,100 profound quotations from founding fathers, presidents, constitutions, court decisions and more


The Law
This 1850 classic is an absolute must read for anyone interested in law, justice, truth, or liberty. A most compelling and revolutionary look at The Law.


Bartlett's Familiar Quotations
A Collection of Passages, Phrases, and Proverbs Traced to Their Sources in Ancient and Modern Literature (17th Edition)


The Stupidest Things Ever Said by Politicians
Rise up, America -- and laugh out loud at the greatest gaffes that no spin doctor could possibly fix!


The 776 Even Stupider Things Ever Said
Another great collection of stupidity


Quotable Quotes
Wit and Wisdom for All Occasions from America's Most Popular Magazine


The Most Brilliant Thoughts of All Time
You don't have to be a genius to sound like one. Here's a collection of the most profound and provocative wit and wisdom in the English language in two lines or less.


2,715 One-Line Quotations for Speakers, Writers & Raconteurs
Invaluable sampler of witticisms, epigrams, sayings, bon mots, platitudes and insights chosen for their brevity and pithiness.


Phillips' Book of Great Thoughts Funny Sayings
A stupendous collection of quotes, quips, epigrams, witticisms, and humorous comments for personal enjoyment and ready reference.


Quick Quips and Quotes; 532 Things I Wish I Had Said
Quick Quips and Quotes is the Ultimate Collection of one liners.


Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes
The ultimate anthology of anecdotes, now revised with over 700 new entries.


Quotations for Public Speakers
A Historical, Literary, and Political Anthology


Liberty - The American Revolution
This compelling series traces the events leading up to the war and America's fight for freedom.


Founding Fathers
The story of how these disparate characters fomented rebellion in the colonies, formed the Continental Congress, fought the Revolutionary War, and wrote the Constitution


Libertarianism: A Primer
David Boaz, director of the Cato Institute, has written a simple introduction to Libertarianism inteneded to appeal to disgruntled Democrats and Republicans everywhere.


The Libertarian Reader
Classic and Contemporary Writings from Lao-Tzu to Milton Friedman


Thomas Paine: Collected Writings
All the classics: Common Sense / The Crisis / Rights of Man / The Age of Reason / Pamphlets, Articles, and Letters

 
Thomas JeffersonAbove all things I hope the education of the common people will be attended to, convinced that on their good sense we may rely with the most security for the preservation of a due degree of liberty. 
Thomas JeffersonBy a declaration of rights, I mean one which shall stipulate freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of commerce against monopolies, trial by juries in all cases, no suspensions of the habeas corpus, no standing armies. These are fetters against doing evil which no honest government should decline. 
Thomas JeffersonFreedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of person under the protection of habeas corpus; and trial by juries impartially selected – these principles form the bright constellation which has gone before us. 
Thomas JeffersonOur liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost. 
Thomas JeffersonNo man will ever bring out of the Presidency the reputation which carries him into it. 
Thomas JeffersonI view great cities as pestilential to the morals, the health and the liberties of man. True, they nourish some of the elegant arts; but the useful ones can thrive elsewhere; and less perfection in the others, with more health, virtue and freedom, would be my choice. 
Thomas JeffersonHonesty is the first chapter of the book of wisdom. 
Thomas JeffersonEvery species of government has its specific principles. Ours perhaps are more peculiar than those of any other in the universe. It is a composition of the freest principles of the English constitution, with others derived from natural right and natural reason. 
Thomas Jefferson[N]othing can be more opposed [to American principles] than the maxims of absolute monarchies. Yet, from such, we are to expect the greater number of emigrants. They will bring with them the principles of the governments they leave, imbibed in their early youth; or, if able to throw them off, it will be in exchange for an unbounded licentiousness, passing, as is usual, from one extreme to another. It would be a miracle were they to stop precisely at the point of temperate liberty. These principles, with their language, they will transmit to their children. In proportion to their numbers, they will share with us the legislation. They will infuse into it their spirit, warp and bias its direction, and render it a heterogenous, incoherent, distracted mass. 
Thomas JeffersonIt has been a source of great pain to me to have met with so many among [my] opponents who had not the liberality to distinguish between political and social opposition; who transferred at once to the person, the hatred they bore to his political opinions. 
Thomas JeffersonDuring the course of administration, and in order to disturb it, the artillery of the press has been levelled against us, charged with whatsoever its licentiousness could devise or dare. These abuses of an institution so important to freedom and science are deeply to be regretted, inasmuch as they tend to lessen its usefulness and to sap its safety. 
Senator William JennerOutwardly we have a Constitutional government. We have operating within our government and political system, another body representing another form of government, a bureaucratic elite which believes our Constitution is outmoded. 
William JennerI want to make one thing clear. This war against our constitution is not being fought way off in Madagascar or in Mandalay. It is being fought here—in our schools, our colleges, our churches, our women’s clubs. It is being fought with our money, channeled through the State Department. It is being fought twenty-four hours a day—while we remain asleep. How many of you Senators know what the UN is doing to change the teaching of the children in your own home town? The UN is at work there, every day and night, changing the teachers, changing the teaching materials, changing the very words and tones—changing all the essential ideas which we imagine our schools are teaching to our young folks. How in the name of Heaven are we to sit here, approve these programs, appropriate our own people’s money—for such outrageous “orientation” of our own children, and of the men and women who teach our children, in this Nation’s schools? 
Jerome K. JeromeIt is always the best policy to tell the truth, unless, of course, you are an exceptionally good liar. 
Jesus of NazarethWoe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! 
Jesus of NazarethPut up again thy sword into its place: for all they that take the sword shall perish by the sword. 
Jesus of NazarethBut I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. 
Jesus of NazarethBlessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 
Jesus of NazarethWhat good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? 
Jesus of NazarethThink not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. 
Jesus of NazarethStop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment. 
Jesus of NazarethAsk, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 
Jesus of NazarethBlessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.  
Jesus of NazarethEvery kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. 
Jesus of NazarethAnd Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the seats of them that sold doves, and said unto them, 'It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.' 
Jesus of NazarethAnd Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, 'It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.' 
Jesus of NazarethBeware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 
Jesus of NazarethAnd ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 
Jesus of NazarethWoe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 
Jesus of NazarethAnd forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 
Jewish ProverbWhat you don't see with your eyes, don't witness with your mouth. 
Jewish ProverbTruth is the safest lie. 
Zaid Jilani[I]t’s an unfortunate reality in many of the journalistic environments we exist today. We can’t criticize certain people, or dig into certain stories, or follow our noses on the trail of corruption if it means upsetting our publishers, sponsors, and donors. 
Zaid JilaniThinkProgress national security bloggers were called into a meeting with CAP senior staff and basically berated for opposing the Afghan war and creating daylight between us and Obama. It confused me a lot because on the one hand, CAP was advertising to donors that it opposed the Afghan war -- in our “Progressive Party,” the annual fundraising party we do with both Big Name Progressive Donors and corporate lobbyists (in the same room!) we even advertised that we wanted to end the war in Afghanistan. But what that meeting with CAP senior staff showed me was that they viewed being closer to Obama and aligning with his policy as more important than demonstrating progressive principle, if that meant breaking with Obama. 
Andrew JohnsonOutside of the Constitution we have no legal authority more than private citizens, and within it we have only so much as that instrument gives us. This broad principle limits all our functions and applies to all subjects. 
Ben JohnsonI have never met a more dedicated bunch of people than I did working in the union, at every level. The work is difficult and demanding, and very few people would do it if they didn’t believe in its righteousness. However, the conviction that you know what’s best insulates you against reflecting morally on your own actions and it teaches you to begin assessing morality in terms of either the ends justifying the means, or even worse, of mere good intention justifying those means. 
Gerald W. JohnsonWe are reluctant to admit that we owe our liberties to men of a type that today we hate and fear -- unruly men, disturbers of the peace, men who resent and denounce what Whitman called 'the insolence of elected persons' -- in a word, free men.  
Hiram JohnsonThe first casualty when war comes is Truth. 
Hiram W. JohnsonThe first casualty when war comes is truth. 
James Weldon JohnsonLabor is the fabled magician's wand, the philosophers stone, and the cap of good fortune. 
Kimberly JohnsonNever ruin an apology with an excuse. 
Lady Bird JohnsonI believe that one of the great problems for us as individuals is the depression and the tension resulting from existence in a world which is increasingly less pleasing to the eye. 
Lyndon B. JohnsonFree speech, free press, free religion, the right of free assembly, yes, the right of petition... well, they are still radical ideas. 
Lyndon B. JohnsonYou do not examine legislation in the light of the benefits it will convey if properly administered, but in the light of the wrongs it would do and the harms it would cause if improperly administered. 
Lyndon B. JohnsonBooks and ideas are the most effective weapons against intolerance and ignorance. 
Lyndon B. JohnsonYou do not examine legislation in the light of the benefits it will convey if properly administered, but in the light of the wrongs it would do and the harm it would cause if improperly administered. 
Lyndon B. JohnsonEvery man should know that his conversations, his correspondence, and his personal life are private. 
Marvin JohnsonChina, Cuba, countries where the only freedoms are those bestowed on a whim by the state -- these countries jail their kids for burning the flag. We do not. America was created around dissent. Our freedom is founded upon the right to make known our opinion without threat of government interdiction -- Old Glory is the ultimate, tangible expression of this national belief. 
Marvin JohnsonPatriotism and respect are earned through the substance and values of a nation, not by its physical symbols. By making the American flag untouchable, Congress would be sending the message that approval of our nation is an obligation not a choice. 
Paul Bede JohnsonThe study of history is a powerful antidote to contemporary arrogance. 
Paul Bede JohnsonIf you depart from moral absolutes, you go into a bottomless pit. Communism and Naziism were catastrophic evils which both derived from moral relativism. Their differences were minor compared to their similarities. 
Paul Bede JohnsonEvery good historian is almost by definition a revisionist. He looks at the accepted view of a particular historic episode or period with a very critical eye. 
Paul Bede JohnsonIf you depart from moral absolutes, you go into a bottomless pit. Communism and Nazism were catastrophic evils which both derived from moral relativism. Their differences were minor compared to their similarities. 
Paul Bede JohnsonThe study of history is a powerful antidote to contemporary arrogance. It is humbling to discover how many of our glib assumptions, which seem to us novel and plausible, have been tested before, not once but many times and in innumerable guises; and discovered to be, at great human cost, wholly false. 
Paul Bede JohnsonThroughout history, the attachment of even the humblest people to their freedom…has come as an unpleasant shock to condescending ideologues. 
Paul Bede JohnsonThe study of history is a powerful antidote to contemporary arrogance. It is humbling to discover how many of our glib assumptions, which seem to us novel and plausible, have been tested before, not once but many times and in innumerable guises; and discovered to be, at great human cost, wholly false. 
Dr. Samuel JohnsonThey who most loudly clamour for liberty do not most liberally grant it. 
Dr. Samuel JohnsonIn order that all men might be taught to speak truth, it is necessary that all likewise should learn to hear it. 
Dr. Samuel JohnsonPatriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. 
Dr. Samuel JohnsonNothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must be first overcome. 
Dr. Samuel JohnsonThey make a rout about universal liberty, without considering that all that is to be valued, or indeed can be enjoyed by individuals, is private liberty. 
Dr. Samuel JohnsonAmong the innumerable mortifications which waylay human arrogance on every side may well be reckoned our ignorance of the most common objects and effects, a defect of which we become more sensible by every attempt to supply it. Vulgar and inactive minds confound familiarity with knowledge and conceive themselves informed of the whole nature of things when they are shown their form or told their use; but the speculatist, who is not content with superficial views, harasses himself with fruitless curiosity, and still, as he inquires more, perceives only that he knows less. 
Dr. Samuel JohnsonCourage is the first of all the virtues because if you haven't courage, you may not have the opportunity to use any of the others. 
Dr. Samuel JohnsonIt matters not how a man dies, but how he lives. 
Dr. Samuel JohnsonSir, I have found you an argument; but I am not obliged to find you an understanding. 
Dr. Samuel JohnsonThe true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good. 
Dr. Samuel JohnsonThe chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken. 
Dr. Samuel JohnsonIntegrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful. 
Dr. Samuel JohnsonAll theory is against freedom of the will; all experience for it. 
Dr. Samuel JohnsonIn questions of law or of fact conscience is very often confounded with opinion. No man’s conscience can tell him the rights of another man; they must be known by rational investigation or historical inquiry. 
Dr. Samuel JohnsonKnowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful. 
Dr. Samuel JohnsonBe not too hasty to trust or admire the teachers of morality; they discourse like angels but they live like men. 
Dr. Samuel JohnsonThere is no crime more infamous than the violation of truth. It is apparent that men can be social beings no longer than they believe each other. When speech is employed only as the vehicle of falsehood, every man must disunite himself from others, inhabit his own cave and seek prey only for himself. 
Dr. Samuel JohnsonCuriosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intelligence. 
Samuel JohnsonTo be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition, the end to which every enterprise and labor tends, and of which every desire prompts the prosecution. 


Daily Quotes
Ready to be inspired?
Sign up for a daily dose of Liberty Quotes!
Leave us your email address to subscribe.
Email:

Here's the Daily Quote history.

Quotes
Here's our full collection of famous quotations.

Categories
Browse quotes by category.

Authors
Browse quotes by Author or Speaker.








(c) Copyright 1999-2024