Stanislaw Jerzy Lec Quotes

Under dictatorship, the people in prison are always superior to the people who put them there.

Tyranny is Tyranny, let it come from whom it may.

Have you any idea how much tyrants fear the people they oppress?

Rebellion! the very word is a confession; an avowal of tyranny, outrage, and oppression. It is taken from the despot's code, and has no terror for others than slavish souls.

Tyranny must be opposed at the start. Autocracy, once secured in the saddle, is difficult to dislodge.

Tyrannicide: Tyranny is a crime.

Rule with an iron first will inevitably come to an end.

The revolutionary government is the despotism of liberty

One must not forget, however, that Russia had to free herself from the most frightful mis-government ever inflicted upon a long-suffering people.

Once you get a tyranny, you don't easily get rid of it. Much better to remember about eternal vigilance.

It is in the nature of tyranny to deride the will of the people as the voice of the mob, and to denounce the cry for freedom as the roar of anarchy.

A rebellion against a tyrant is only immoral when it hasn't got a chance.

Man and fascism cannot co-exist. If fascism conquers, man will cease to exist and there will remain only man-like creatures that have undergone an internal transformation. But if man, man who is endowed with reason and kindness, should conquer, then Fascism must perish, and those who have submitted to it will once again become people.

Those who rebelled against totalitarian rule and those who simply managed to remain themselves and think freely, were all persecuted. We should not forget any of those who paid for our present freedom in one way or another.

My face on every coin engraved, the anarchists are all enslaved. My flag is forever waved, by the grateful people I have saved.

Totalitarianism, if not fought against, could triumph anywhere.

[It is a basic principle of a tyrant] to unarm his people of weapons, money and all means whereby they resist his power.

Tyranny is tyranny, no matter what its form; the free man will resist it if his courage serves.

Tremble, all ye oppressors of the world!

In a society like this there is no negotiation, no discussion, except to tell you that power can crush you any time they want — not only you, your whole family and all people like you.

All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.

Everywhere that freedom stirs, let tyrants fear.

Freedom is contagious. That's why despots fear it so much.

You can't, in the 21st century, continue to live in a system where people live under martial law for 30 years.

Under conditions of tyranny it is far easier to act than to think.