120 Famous Quotes About Freedom & Liberty

A collection of famous quotes about freedom. Explore, share and inspire yourself and others through these inspiring freedom and liberty quotes.

Freedom Quotes

1. Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom – and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech. Benjamin Franklin

2. Stand for what’s right. Make your life beautiful. Make your life meaningful. –Maxime Lagacé

3. “The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” – Albert Camus

4. “I prefer liberty with danger to peace with slavery.” – Jean-Jacques Rousseau

5. A man who believes in freedom will do anything under the sun to acquire, or preserve his freedom. _Malcolm X

6. “I’m a big advocate of freedom: freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of thought.” – Jimmy Walesh

7. No one outside ourselves can rule us inwardly. When we know this, we become free. _Buddha

8. “I believe in freedom of speech, but I believe we should also have the right to comment on freedom of speech.” – Stockwell Day

9. Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labour in freedom. _Albert Einstein

10. “Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.” – George Washington Carver

11. “I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free… so other people would be also free.” – Rosa Parks

12. “I find only freedom in the realms of eccentricity.” – David Bowie

13. “Freedom – to walk free and own no superior.” – Walt Whitman

14. “I’d like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free and wanted other people to be also free.” – Rosa Parks

15. “I would rather die in freedom on my way back home than starve to death here.” – Morning Star

Liberty Quotes

16. Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth. _George Washington

17. “The secret to happiness is freedom… And the secret to freedom is courage.” – Thucydides

18. Liberty: One of imagination’s most precious possessions. Ambrose Bierce

19. “Money won’t create success, the freedom to make it will.” – Nelson Mandela

20. “Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils.” – General John Stark


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21. “True success, true happiness lies in freedom and fulfilment.” – Dada Vaswani

22. “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”―Benjamin Franklin

23. “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” ―George Orwell

24. “Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.” – Pope John Paul II

25. “Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves.”―Henry David Thoreau

26. “It is easy to take liberty for granted when you have never had it taken from you.”

27. “I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.” ―Thomas Jefferson

28. “Better to die fighting for freedom then be a prisoner all the days of your life.” – Bob Marley

29. If your purpose is to liberate yourself and others into love and freedom, then you should do whatever magnifies the love and freedom in your life and in the lives of whom your actions affect. David Deida

Quotes About Freedom

30. “Liberty has never come from the government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of it. The history of liberty is a history of resistance.” – Woodrow Wilson

31. “We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.” – Edward R. Murrow

32. “The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. You trade in your reality for a role. You give up your ability to feel, and in exchange, put on a mask.” – Jim Morrison

33. “If you’re not ready to die for it, put the word ‘freedom’ out of your vocabulary.” – Malcolm X

34. “When a truth is not given complete freedom, freedom is not complete.” – Vaclav Havel

35. “I stand for freedom of expression, doing what you believe in, and going after your dreams.” – Madonna Ciccone

36. “The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission.” – John F. Kennedy

37. “Freedom has never been free.” – Medgar Evers

38. In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved. Franklin D. Roosevelt

39. “We gain freedom when we have paid the full price.” – Rabindranath Tagore

40. “I believe that freedom of speech and freedom of religion go hand-in-hand in America.” – Kirk Cameron

Quotes on Freedom

41. “Freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” – George Orwell

42. “Art is the daughter of freedom.” – Friedrich Schiller

43. Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better. _Albert Camus

44. “The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant.” – Maximilien Robespierre

45. “To me, punk rock is the freedom to create, freedom to be successful, freedom to not be successful, freedom to be who you are. It’s freedom.” – Patti Smith


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46. We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it. William Faulkner

47. For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. Nelson Mandela

48. “The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism.” – Wole Soyinka

49. Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does. Jean-Paul Sartre

50. “Freedom is always and exclusively freedom for the one who thinks differently.” – Rosa Luxemburg

51. “A place of freedom is the best place to have the most creativity.” – Matt McGorry

52. “True freedom requires the rule of law and justice, and a judicial system in which the rights of some are not secured by the denial of rights to others.” – Jonathan Sacks

53. “Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom – and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech.” – Benjamin Franklin

54. “The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.” – Patrick Henry

freedom quotes

55. “There is no such thing as part freedom.” – Nelson Mandela

56. “Freedom is something that dies unless it’s used.” – Hunter S. Thompson

57. “To enjoy freedom we have to control ourselves.” – Virginia Woolf

58. “Our freedom can be measured by the number of things we can walk away from.” – Vernon Howard

59. “Ultimately we know deeply that the other side of every fear is freedom.” – Marilyn Ferguson

60. “Freedom means the opportunity to be what we never thought we would be.” – Daniel J. Boorstin

61. “Freedom is a struggle, and we do it together. Not only together as black citizens, but black and white together.” – Andrew Young

62. “I wish that every human life might be pure transparent freedom.” – Simone de Beauvoir

63. “I’ve sold my soul for freedom. It’s lonely but it’s sweet.” – Melissa Etheridge

64. “Man is free at the moment he wishes to be.” – Voltaire

freedom quotes

65. “A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself.” – Jim Morrison

66. “Just living is not enough… one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” – Hans Christian Andersen

67. “Love does not claim possession, but gives freedom.” – Rabindranath Tagore

68. No man is good enough to govern another man without his consent. Abraham Lincoln

69. Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. Abraham Lincoln

70. Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err. Mahatma Gandhi


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71. “I want to give myself the freedom not to have to be projecting my whole life ahead.” – Robert Downey, Jr.

72. When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw. Nelson Mandela

73. “Let freedom reign. The sun never set on so glorious a human achievement.” – Nelson Mandela

74. “Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.” – Frank Herbert

75. “Freedom is the open window through which pours the sunlight of the human spirit and human dignity.” – Herbert Hoover

76. “I’ve learned that fear limits you and your vision. It serves as blinders to what may be just a few steps down the road for you. The journey is valuable, but believing in your talents, your abilities, and your self-worth can empower you to walk down an even brighter path. Transforming fear into freedom – how great is that?” – Soledad O’Brien

77. “This is the highest wisdom that I own; freedom and life are earned by those alone who conquer them each day anew.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

78. “Freedom is what you do with what’s been done to you.” – Jean-Paul Sartre

freedom quotes

79. “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

80. “My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular.” – Adlai Stevenson

81. “True independence and freedom can only exist in doing what’s right.” – Brigham Young

82. “Every human has four endowments – self awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom… The power to choose, to respond, to change.” – Stephen Covey

83. “Instead of trying to make your life perfect, give yourself the freedom to make it an adventure, and go ever upward.” – Drew Houston

84. “Certainly one of the chief guarantees of freedom under any government, no matter how popular and respected, is the right of citizens to keep and bear arms.” – Hubert H. Humphrey

85. “Friends can help each other. A true friend is someone who lets you have total freedom to be yourself – and especially to feel. Or, not feel. Whatever you happen to be feeling at the moment is fine with them. That’s what real love amounts to – letting a person be what he really is.” – Jim Morrison

86. “All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.” – Winston Churchill

87. “There must be freedom for all to live, to think, to worship, no book, no avenue must be closed.” – James Larkin

88. “Perfect freedom is as necessary to the health and vigor of commerce as it is to the health and vigor of citizenship.” – Patrick Henry

freedom quotes

89. “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” – Nelson Mandela

90. “A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.” – Bob Dylan

91. “Grace is the beauty of form under the influence of freedom.” – Friedrich Schiller

92. “Freedom is never given; it is won.” – A. Philip Randolph

93. “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.” – Ronald Reagan

94. “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” – George Orwell

95. We have no right to believe that freedom can be won without struggle. Che Guevara

96. Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. John F. Kennedy

97. The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. John F. Kennedy

98. Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth. John F. Kennedy

99. Freedom is not the right to live as we please, but the right to find how we ought to live in order to fulfil our potential. Ralph Waldo Emerson

100. Freedom – to walk free and own no superior. Walt Whitman

101. “If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.” – Noam Chomsky

102. It’s beautiful to be alone. To be alone does not mean to be lonely. It means the mind is not influenced and contaminated by society. Jiddu Krishnamurti

103. “People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.” – Soren Kierkegaard

104. “Financial freedom is available to those who learn about it and work for it.” – Robert Kiyosaki

105. “A big part of financial freedom is having your heart and mind free from worry about the what-ifs of life.” – Suze Orman

freedom quotes

106. “When freedom does not have a purpose, when it does not wish to know anything about the rule of law engraved in the hearts of men and women, when it does not listen to the voice of conscience, it turns against humanity and society.” – Pope John Paul II

107. “Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility.” – Sigmund Freud

108. Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything – anger, anxiety, or possessions – we cannot be free. Thich Nhat Hanh

109. “You don’t have to be a man to fight for freedom. All you have to do is to be an intelligent human being.” – Malcolm X

110. “Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you’re a man, you take it.” – Malcolm X

111. “Freedom of speech means freedom for those who you despise, and freedom to express the most despicable views. It also means that the government cannot pick and choose which expressions to authorize and which to prevent.” – Alan Dershowitz

112. “Too much freedom can lead to the soul’s decay.” – Prince

113. “There is no such thing as a little freedom. Either you are all free, or you are not free.” – Walter Cronkite

114. “None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but licence.” – John Milton

115. Freedom consists not in refusing to recognize anything above us, but in respecting something which is above us; for by respecting it, we raise ourselves to it, and, by our very acknowledgment, prove that we bear within ourselves what is higher, and are worthy to be on a level with it. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

116. “Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the Government’s purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in the insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding.” – Justice Louis Brandeis

117. Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and nature. Benjamin Franklin

118. Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed — else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die. Dwight D. Eisenhower

119. Freedom of teaching and of opinion in book or press is the foundation for the sound and natural development of any people. Albert Einstein

120. Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect. Eleanor Roosevelt

121. The war for freedom will never really be won because the price of freedom is constant vigilance over ourselves and over our Government. Eleanor Roosevelt