His face is livid, gaunt his whole body, his breath is green with gall; his tongue drips poison.
John Quincy AdamsRead
Individual liberty is individual power, and as the power of a community is a mass compounded of individual powers, the nation which enjoys the most freedom must necessarily be in proportion to its numbers the most powerful nation.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Individual liberty equates to personal power, and the strength of a nation is based on the collective freedoms of its people.
In this quote, John Quincy Adams suggests that the concept of individual liberty is inherently tied to personal empowerment. He argues that when individuals are free, they wield power, and consequently, a community of empowered individuals forms a powerful nation. The more freedom a society allows its members, the stronger and more capable that society becomes as a whole, highlighting the intrinsic link between individual rights and national strength.
Themes
LibertyPowerFreedomNationStrength
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate about civil rights, one could use this quote to emphasize the importance of individual freedoms.
More from John Quincy Adams
All quotes →Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.
John Quincy AdamsRead
It is among the evils of slavery that it taints the very sources of moral principle. It establishes false estimates of virtue and vice: for what can be more false and heartless than this doctrine which makes the first and holiest rights of humanity to depend upon the color of the skin?
John Quincy AdamsRead
The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.
John Quincy AdamsRead
I have no predilection for unpopularity as such, but I hold it much preferable to the popularity of a day, which perishes with the transient topic upon which it is grounded.
John Quincy AdamsRead
According to the Stoics, all vice was resolvable into folly: according to the Christian principle, it is all the effect of weakness.
John Quincy AdamsRead
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