Life

If you’re looking for inspiration from the Declaration of Independence, here are the top 99 quotes referring to the principle of…

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
“Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place.”
“The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government.”
“The right to life is the source of all rights—and the right to property is their only implementation.”
“Life is made up of constant calls to action, and we seldom have time for more than hastily contrived answers.”

“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
“The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on Earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but only to have the law of nature for his rule.”
“Liberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker.”
“Liberty is the great parent of science and of virtue; and a nation will be great in both in proportion as it is free.”
“The liberty of the press is essential to the security of freedom in a state.”

“The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.”
“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.”
“The greatest happiness you can have is knowing that you do not necessarily require happiness.”
“It is not in the pursuit of happiness that we find fulfillment, it is in the happiness of pursuit.”
“Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.”

“All men are created equal.”
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
“It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.”
“We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race.”
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”

“Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”
“The people are the only legitimate fountain of power, and it is from them that the constitutional charter, under which the several branches of government hold their power, is derived.”
“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”
“The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object.”
“I believe that all government is evil, and that trying to improve it is largely a waste of time.”

“Revolution is not a one-time event.”
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”
“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.”
“The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive.”

“We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.”
“Independence now and forever!”
“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”
“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.”
“I prefer liberty with danger to peace with slavery.”

“The natural rights of man are these: to life, liberty and property.”
“The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.”
“The first and simplest emotion which we discover in the human mind is curiosity.”
“The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.”
“The right of a nation to kill a tyrant in case of necessity can no more be doubted than to hang a robber, or kill a flea.”

“Citizenship is a tough occupation which obliges the citizen to make his own informed opinion and stand by it.”
“Citizenship consists in the service of the country.”
“To be an American is to be a citizen of the most generous and prosperous nation in the history of the world.”
“The American flag is the symbol of our freedom, national pride and history.”
“The duty of a patriot is to protect his country from its government.”

“Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
“Whenever a separation is made between liberty and justice, neither, in my opinion, is safe.”
“The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.”
“The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right.”
“The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.”

“We have this day restored the Sovereign to Whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven and from the rising to the setting of the sun, let His kingdom come.”
“God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?”
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'”
“The Bible is the rock on which our Republic rests.”
“If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”

“There is nothing so powerful as truth, and often nothing so strange.”
“The dignity of the human person is a transcendent value, always recognized but never fully realized, a value that demands a response.”
“The value of human life is being threatened by cloning, embryonic stem cell research, and the use of the death penalty.”
“All of us are born for a reason, but all of us don’t discover why. Success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It’s what you do for others.”
“What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly.”

“We are all one.”
“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.”
“United we stand, divided we fall.”

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