What seems fair enough against a squalid huckster of bad liquor may take on a different face, if used by a government determined to suppress political opposition under the guise of sedition.
Learned HandRead
The spirit of liberty is the spirit of him who, near two thousand years ago, taught mankind that lesson it has never learned ... .
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the enduring importance of liberty and the teachings of a historical figure on this subject.
Learned Hand reflects on the timeless struggle for liberty, suggesting that the foundational lessons about freedom, taught nearly two millennia ago, still resonate in the human experience today. He implies that despite significant advancements, humanity often overlooks the crucial importance of liberty, indicating that true understanding and appreciation of it are still woefully incomplete.
Themes
LibertyFreedomHumanityLessonsTeaching
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about civil rights, one could reference this quote to underscore the importance of liberty.
More from Learned Hand
All quotes β"I beseech ye in the bowels of Christ, think that ye may be mistaken." I should like to have that written over the portals of every church, every school, and every courthouse, and, may I say, of every legislative body in the United States. I should like to have every court begin, "I beseech ye in the bowels of Christ, think that we may be mistaken."
Learned HandRead
The language of the law must not be foreign to the ears of those who are to obey it.
Learned HandRead
I shall ask no more than that you agree with Dean Inge that even though counting heads is not an ideal way to govern, at least it is better than breaking them.
Learned HandRead
As soon as we cease to pry about at random, we shall come to rely upon accredited bodies of authoritative dogma; and as soon as we come to rely upon accredited bodies of authoritative dogma, not only are the days of our liberty over, but we have lost the password that has hitherto opened to us the gates of success as well.
Learned HandRead
What to an outsider will be no more than the vigorous presentation of a conviction, to an employee may be the manifestation of a determination which it is not safe to thwart.
Learned HandRead
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Self-discovery is above all the realization that we are alone: it is the opening of an impalpable, transparent wall - that of our consciousness - between the world and ourselves.
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A bird maintains itself in the air by imperceptible balancing, when near to the mountains or lofty ocean crags; it does this by means of the curves of the winds which as they strike against these projections, being forced to preserve their first impetus bend their straight course towards the sky with divers revolutions, at the beginning of which the birds come to a stop with their wings open, receiving underneath themselves the continual buffetings of the reflex courses of the winds.
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The press is impotent when it abandons itself to falsehood.
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A rarer spirit never Did steer humanity; but you gods will give us Some faults to make us men.
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