Nature smiles at the union of freedom and equality in our utopias. For freedom and equality are sworn and everlasting enemies, and when one prevails the other dies.
Will DurantRead
Liberty is a luxury of security; the free individual is a product and a mark of civilization.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Liberty requires a secure environment and reflects the advancements of civilization.
This quote by Will Durant emphasizes that true liberty is not merely the absence of restraint but is closely tied to the presence of security provided by a civilized society. It suggests that as a society becomes more developed and structured, the freedom of individuals flourishes, indicating that both liberty and civilization are interdependent.
Themes
LibertySecurityCivilizationFreedomSociety
In practice
Example use cases
Use this quote to inspire a speech on the importance of maintaining societal security for individual freedoms.
More from Will Durant
All quotes βThe greatest question of our time is not communism vs. individualism, not Europe vs. America, not even the East vs. the West; it is whether men can bear to live without God.
Will DurantRead
If we have never been amazed by the very fact that we exist, we are squandering the greatest fact of all.
Will DurantRead
Philosophy is harmonized knowledge making a harmonious life; it is the self-discipline which lifts us to serenity and freedom. Knowledge is power, but only wisdom is liberty.
Will DurantRead
If you wish to be loved, be modest; if you wish to be admired, be proud; if you wish both, combine external modesty with internal pride.
Will DurantRead
When liberty destroys order the hunger for order will destroy liberty.
Will DurantRead
Similar quotes
If you haven't got any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble.
Bob HopeRead
The Buddhists say there are 149 ways to God. I'm not looking for God, only for myself, and that is far more complicated. God has had a great deal written about Him; nothing has been written about me. God is bigger, like my mother, easier to find, even in the dark. I could be anywhere, and since I can't describe myself I can't ask for help.
Jeanette WintersonRead
Words are wise men's counters, they do but reckon by them: but they are the money of fools, that value them by the authority of an Aristotle, a Cicero, or a Thomas, or any other doctor whatsoever, if but a man.
Thomas HobbesRead
What is it the Bible teaches us? -- rapine, cruelty, and murder.
Thomas PaineRead
This is a crucial time in the fight for corporate civil rights. Just look at the hateful signs at Occupy Wallstreet: 'Corporations Are Not People!' Wow, I thought we were past the point in this country where some people aren't people just because they have different color skin or different religion or were born in a lawyer's office, only exist on paper, have no soul and can never die.
Stephen ColbertRead
In an ideal world, you could reunite the Pakistan-occupied part of Kashmir with the Indian-occupied part and restore the old borders. You could have both India and Pakistan agreeing to guarantee those borders, demilitarise the area, and to invest in it economically. In a sane world that would happen, but we don't live in a sane world.
Salman RushdieRead