I have always been of the mind that in a democracy manners are the only effective weapons against the bowie-knife.
James Russell LowellRead
True freedom is to share All the chains our brothers wear, And, with heart and hand, to be Earnest to make others free!
Interpretation
What this quote means
True freedom involves helping others break free from their struggles.
This quote emphasizes that real freedom cannot be fully experienced in isolation; it requires empathy and collective effort. To achieve true liberation, we must actively participate in alleviating the suffering of others, sharing in their burdens and working together to create a more just and free society.
Themes
FreedomSolidarityEmpathyLiberationJustice
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech advocating for social justice, this quote could inspire the audience to take action.
More from James Russell Lowell
All quotes →The foolish and the dead alone never change their opinions.
James Russell LowellRead
Not failure, but low aim, is crime.
James Russell LowellRead
Good luck is the willing handmaid of upright, energetic character, and conscientious observance of duty.
James Russell LowellRead
Puritanism, believing itself quick with the seed of religious liberty, laid, without knowing it, the egg of democracy.
James Russell LowellRead
Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind.
James Russell LowellRead
Similar quotes
I would rather drudge out my life on a cotton plantation, till the grave opened to give me rest, than to live with an unprincipled master and a jealous mistress.
Harriet Ann JacobsRead
Fare thee well, king: sith thus thou wilt appear, Freedom lives hence, and banishment is here.
William ShakespeareRead
You're not free if you can't start a small business because you fear losing your health care, and you're certainly not free if a male boss or politician prevents you from making decisions about your own reproductive health.
Pete ButtigiegRead
They were singing in French, but the melody was freedom and any American could understand that.
Audie MurphyRead
You put a tattoo on yourself with the knowledge that this body is yours to have and enjoy while you're here. You have fun with it, and nobody else can control (supposedly) what you do with it. That's why tattooing is such a big thing in prison: it's an expression of freedom—one of the only expressions of freedom there. They can lock you down, control everything, but 'I've got my mind, and I can tattoo my body—alter it my way as an act of personal will.'
Don Ed HardyRead
No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation.
Douglas MacarthurRead