He who lets the world, or his own portion of it, choose his plan of life for him, has no need of any other faculty than the ape-like one of imitation. He who chooses his plan for himself, employs all his faculties. He must use observation to see, reasoning and judgment to foresee, activity to gather materials for decision, discrimination to decide, and when he has decided, firmness and self-control to hold to his deliberate decision.

It is not because men's desires are strong that they act ill; it is because their consciences are weak.

Education is one of the subjects which most essentially require to be considered by various minds, and from a variety of points of view. For, of all many-sided subjects, it is the one which has the greatest number of sides.

So natural to mankind is intolerance ... that religious freedom has hardly anywhere been practically realized.

Marriage is the only actual bondage known to our law. There remain no legal slaves, except the mistress of every house.

The love of power and the love of liberty are in eternal antagonism.

We can never be sure that the opinion we are endeavoring to stifle is a false opinion; and if we were sure, stifling it would be an evil still.