Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

For a man to act himself, he must be perfectly free; otherwise he is in danger of losing all sense of responsibility or of self- respect.

Where the realm of freedom of thought and action begin, the determination of individuals according to generic laws ends.

The man who does not do his own thinking is a slave, and is a traitor to himself and to his fellow-men.

Liberty is the only true riches: of all the rest we are at once the masters and the slaves.

The 'will to power and independence' has become so ubiquitous that it is now considered normal.

I had much rather starve in England, a free woman, than be a slave for the best man that ever breathed upon the American continent

Freedom-no word was ever spoken that has held out greater hope, demanded greater sacrifice, needed more to be nurtured, blessed more the giver. . . or came closer to being God's will on earth.

My work will be finished if I succeed in carrying conviction to the human family that every man or woman, however weak in body, is the guardian of his or her self-respect and liberty.

Liberty is one of the most precious gifts which heaven has bestowed on man; with it we cannot compare the treasures which the earth contains or the sea conceals; for liberty, as for honor, we can and ought to risk our lives; and, on for the other hand, captivity is the greatest evil that can befall man.

I don't feel like I have to please anyone. I feel free. I feel like I'm an adult. I'm grown. I can do what I want. I can say what I want. I can retire if I want. That's why I've worked hard.

It is far better for a man to go wrong in freedom than to go right in chains.

If you figure a way to live without serving a master, any master, then let the rest of us know, will you? For you'd be the first person in the history of the world.

Englishmen never will be slaves; they are free to do whatever the government and public opinion allow them.

In true democracy every man and woman is taught to think for himself or herself.

Let all your views in life be directed to a solid, however moderate, independence; without it no man can be happy, nor even honest.

I was not born to be forced.

Though freedom and wealth are both good things which most of us desire and though we often need both to obtain what we wish, they still remain different. Whether or not I am my own master and can follow my own choice and whether the possibilities from which I must choose are many or few are two entirely different questions. The courtier living in the lap of luxury but at the beck and call of his prince may be much less free than a poor peasant or artisan, less able to live his own life and to choose his own opportunities for usefulness.

Nearly all men are slaves for the same reason that the Spartans assigned for the servitude of the Persians -- lack of power to pronounce the syllable, "No." To be able to utter that word and live alone, are the only means to preserve one's freedom and one's character.

I´m not a wandering slave, I am a woman of choice

Today as always, men fall into two groups: slaves and free men. Whoever does not have two-thirds of his day for himself, is a slave, whatever he may be: a statesman, a businessman, an official, or a scholar.

I do not want to be controlled by any superpower. I myself consider myself the most powerful figure in the world, and that is why I do not let any superpower control me.

Freedom is the will to be responsible for ourselves.

It is a maxim that no man was ever enslaved by influence while he was fit to be free.

Liberty, then, is the sovereignty of the individual, and never shall man know liberty until each and every individual is acknowledged to be the only legitimate sovereign of his or her person, time, and property, each living and acting at his own cost.

Man usually thinks liberty is the power of doing what he likes to do. That is license.