And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.

Man is free at the instant he wants to be.

No one can be perfectly free till all are free; no one can be perfectly moral till all are moral; no one can be perfectly happy till all are happy.

I have always thought that all men should be free; but if any should be slaves, it should be first those who desire it for themselves, and secondly, those who desire it for others. When I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.

Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it. Letter to Henry L Pierce and others (6 April 1859)

Every man is free to do that which he wills, provided he infringes not the equal freedom of any other man.

Liberal institutions straightway cease from being liberal the moment they are soundly established: once this is attained no more grievous and more thorough enemies of freedom exist than liberal institutions.

The current motto for all of us can only be this: without giving up anything on the plane of justice, yield nothing on the plane of freedom.

Absolute freedom mocks at justice. Absolute justice denies freedom. To be fruitful, the two ideas must find their limits in each other.