When the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again.
Edith HamiltonRead
Responsibility is the price every man must pay for freedom.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True freedom comes with the obligation of responsibility.
This quote suggests that freedom is not free; it requires individuals to take on responsibilities. Responsibility ensures that personal freedom does not infringe on the rights and freedoms of others, thus fostering a harmonious society where everyone can enjoy their freedoms safely and respectfully.
Themes
ResponsibilityFreedomObligationIndividualitySociety
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about civic duty, one might say this quote to emphasize the importance of active participation in democracy.
More from Edith Hamilton
All quotes βThe power of good is shown not by triumphantly conquering evil, but by continuing to resist evil while facing certain defeat.
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Theories that go counter to the facts of human nature are foredoomed.
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To rejoice in life, to find the world beautiful ... was a mark of the Greek spirit.
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So far, we do not seem appalled at the prospect of exactly the same kind of education being applied to all the school children from the Atlantic to the Pacific, but there is an uneasiness in the air, a realization that the individual is growing less easy to find; an idea, perhaps, of what standardization might become when the units are not machines, but human beings.
Edith HamiltonRead
Pain is the most individualized thing on earth. It is true that it is the great common bond as well, but that realization only comes when it is over. To suffer is to be alone. To watch another suffer is to know the barrier that shuts each of us away by himself Only individuals can suffer.
Edith HamiltonRead
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