Top 600 Quotes & Sayings by Famous Revolutionaries - Page 3

He who negates present society, and seeks social conditions based on the sharing of property, is a revolutionary whether he calls himself an anarchist or a communist.

In existing States a fresh law is looked upon as a remedy for evil. Instead of themselves altering what is bad, people begin by demanding a law to alter it.

In revolutions authority remains with the greatest scoundrels.

One has to grow hard but without ever losing tenderness.

Any society which suppresses the heritage of its conquered minorities, prevents their history or denies them their symbols, has sown the seeds of their own destruction.

If you are asking for my point of view, I would say that the Palestinians should go back to Palestine.

The land belongs to those who work it with their hands.

One of the most surprising things in life is the sudden realization that one has become old

When mankind was in its infancy, steeped in uncertainty, ignorance, and error, was it possible to foresee what system it would adopt for preservation.

Even the most wretched individual of our present society could not exist and develop without the cumulative social efforts of countless generations.

Anarchy, when it works to destroy authority in all its aspects, when it demands the abrogation of laws and the abolition of the mechanism that serves to impose them, when it refuses all hierarchical organization and preaches free agreement - at the same time strives to maintain and enlarge the precious kernel of social customs without which no human or animal society can exist. Only, instead of demanding that those social customs should be maintained through the authority of a few, it demands it from the continued action of all.

Struggle so that all may live this rich, overflowing life. And be sure that in this struggle you will find a joy greater than anything else can give.

When one has talent, everything contributes to its development.

The tocsin you hear today is not an alarm but an alert: it sounds the charge against our enemies.

We cannot be sure of having something to live for unless we are willing to die for it.

Paris is in a tranquil state; the infernal cabal that besieges me appears guided by foreigners. This idea consoles me, for nothing is so painful as being persecuted by one's own fellow-citizens.

I should probably bequeath the copyrights to my screenplay for Spies Like Us, just in case.

The Constitution shall never be construed... to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.

All is for all! If the man and the woman bear their fair share of work, they have a right to their fair share of all that is produced by all, and that share is enough to secure them well-being. No more of such vague formulas as "The Right to work," or "To each the whole result of his labour." What we proclaim is The Right to Well-Being: Well-Being for All!

Mr. Marx does not believe in God, but he believes deeply in himself. His heart is filled not with love but with rancor. He has very little benevolence toward men and becomes... furious and... spiteful... when anyone dares question the omniscience of the divinity whom he adores, that is to say, Mr. Marx himself.

May these happy United States attain that complete splendour and prosperity which will illustrate the blessings of their government, and for ages to come rejoice the departed souls of their founders!

I don't care if I fall as long as someone else picks up my gun and keeps on shooting.

It was patriotism, not communism, that inspired me.

He who slanders the victim aids the executioner.

Is it conceivable that a newly emancipated people can soar to the heights of liberty, and, unlike Icarus, neither have its wings melt nor fall into an abyss? Such a marvel is inconceivable and without precedent. There is no reasonable probability to bolster our hopes.

Now tell me, what does that mean to be noble? Your title gives you claim to the throne of our country, but men don't follow titles, they follow courage. Now our people know you. Noble, and common, they respect you. And if you would just lead them to freedom, they'd follow you. And so would I

If the public are bound to yield obedience to laws to which they cannot give their approbation, they are slaves to those who make such laws and enforce them.

The negro has maintained his racial purity by his well known habit of avoiding baths

The Regulars are coming out!

I'm William Wallace, and the rest of you will be spared. Go back to England and tell them... Scotland is free!

Where the state begins, individual liberty ceases, and vice versa.

The hopeless don't revolt, because revolution is an act of hope.

What a man has honestly acquired is absolutely his own, which he may freely give, but cannot be taken from him without his consent.

Fascism is nothing but capitalist reaction...

Protestants in France are under intolerable despotism. Although open persecution does not now exist, yet it depends upon the whim of the king, queen, parliament, or any of the ministry.

As long as we have a master in heaven, we will be slaves on earth.

Justice remains the tool of a few powerful interests; legal interpretations will continue to be made to suit the convenience of the oppressor powers.

As Governor of my country, I have been an enemy to its enemies; I have slain the English; I have mortally opposed the English King; I have stormed and taken the towns and castles which he unjustly claimed as his own.

We have proclaimed to the world our determination 'to die freemen, rather than to live slaves.' We have appealed to Heaven for the justice of our cause, and in Heaven we have placed our trust.

It is an illusion to think that the matter can be resolved through words.

A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy. While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue then will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader.

The existing system will be quickest and most radically overthrown by the annihilation of its exponents. Therefore, massacres of the enemies of the people must be set in motion.

Learning carries within itself certain dangers because out of necessity one has to learn from one's enemies.

If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.

But times and tempers are changed. Rebels are everywhere to be found who no longer wish to obey the law without knowing whence it comes, what are its uses, and whither arises the obligation to submit to it, and the reverence with which it is encompassed. The rebels of our day are criticizing the very foundations of society which have hitherto been held sacred, and first and foremost amongst them that fetish, law.

It is only by the abolition of the State, by the conquest of perfect liberty by the individual, by free agreement, association, and absolute free federation that we can reach Communism — the possession in common of our social inheritance, and the production in common of all riches.

This contradiction lies here: they wish God, and they wish humanity. They persist in connecting two terms which, once separated, can come together again only to destroy each other.

The communism of Marx seeks a strong state centralization, and where this exists, there the parasitic Jewish nation - which speculates upon the labor of people - will always find the means for its existence.

To execute a man we don't need proof of his guilt. We only need proof that it's necessary to execute him. It's that simple.

The Spaniards are slow in their motions but strong in their attachments.

Let's be realistic. Let's do the impossible!

Democracy cannot consist solely of elections that are nearly always fictitious and managed by rich landowners and professional politicians.

Does it follow that I reject all authority? Perish the thought. In the matter of boots, I defer to the authority of the boot-maker.

How easy it is to govern when one follows a system of consulting the will of the people and one holds as the only norm all the actions which contribute to the well being of the people.

Sociability is as much a law of nature as mutual struggle. Mutual aid is as much a law of animal life as mutual struggle.

If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom - go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen!

The privilege of ruling would be in the hands of the skilled and the learned, with a wide scope left for profitable crooked deals carried on by the Jews, who would be attracted by the enormous extension of the international speculations of the national banks.

Such a faith would be fatal to my reason, to my liberty, and even to the success of my undertakings; it would immediately transform me into a stupid slave, an instrument of the will and interests of others.

When the shadow of death blots out my joy And erases the face of the sun Give me strength to endure, hope to believe That living and dying are one.

Love other human beings as you would love yourself.