Liberty is the proper end and object of authority, and cannot subsist without it; and it is liberty to that which is good, just, and honest.
Interpretation
Liberty is the ultimate goal of authority, and it can only exist alongside it when it serves just and honest purposes.
In this quote, John Winthrop articulates the relationship between liberty and authority, suggesting that genuine freedom is rooted in the presence of a rightful authority that upholds moral values. It emphasizes that liberty should not be an abstract concept but should be directed towards ensuring what is good, just, and honest in society, highlighting the moral responsibilities that come with freedom.
In practice
In a speech advocating for civil liberties, one might quote this to emphasize the moral foundations of freedom.
We must delight in each other, make others conditions our own, rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together, always having before our eyes our commission and community in the work, our community as members of the same body.
By the time you read this, you'll be older than you remember.
When we really worship anything, we love not only its clearness but its obscurity. We exult in its very invisibility.
I have to confess that I had gambled on my soul and lost it with heroic insouciance and lightness of touch. The soul is so impalpable, so often useless, and sometimes such a nuisance, that I felt no more emotion on losing it than if, on a stroll, I had mislaid my visiting card.
While photographs may not lie, liars may photograph.
Whether humanity is to comprehensively prosper...depends entirely on the integrity of the human individuals and not on the political and economic systems. The cosmic question has been asked: are humans worthwhile to universe invention?
There was nothing postracial about my experience, and there still isn't.
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