quotations about independence
Hail! Independence, hail! Heaven's next best gift,
To that of life and an immortal soul!
JAMES THOMSON
"Liberty"
Thy spirit, Independence, let me share!
Lord of the lion-heart and eagle-eye,
Thy steps I follow with my bosom bare,
Nor heed the storm that howls along the sky.
TOBIAS SMOLLETT
"Ode to Independence"
Independence, the freedom of a self-governing nation, is in my estimation the highest political good, for which any disadvantage, if need be, and any sacrifice are a cheap price.
ENOCH POWELL
speech at Stockport, June 8, 1973
It is a great folly to lose the inner man in order to gain the outer, that is, to give up the whole or the greater part of one's quiet, leisure, and independence for splendour, rank, pomp, titles and honours.
ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER
"Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life", Parerga und Paralipomena
Being "independent" means, really, that you can't screw around anymore. Why? Because your livelihood, your happiness, your success is dependent on you. Which is why it's time to get your life in order--stat!
LAUREL HOUSE
QuickieChick's Cheat Sheet to Life, Love, Food, Fitness, Fashion, and Finance--on a Less-Than-Fabulous Budget
Self-government, self-discipline, self-responsibility are the triple safeguards of the independence of man.
BERNICE MOORE
attributed, Manitoba School Journal, 1949
The antagonist of favor is a brave and heroic mind; a noble, self-relying, and independent spirit.
H. H. MILMAN
attributed, Day's Collacon
When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds 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.
THOMAS JEFFERSON
Declaration of Independence
A lofty sense of independence is, in man, the best privilege of his nature.
MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT SHELLEY
Lodore
To be independent of public opinion is the first formal condition of achieving anything great.
GEORG WILHELM FRIEDRICH HEGEL
Outlines of the Philosophy of Right
These two things, contradictory as they may seem, must go together: manly dependence and manly independence, manly reliance and manly self-reliance.
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
William Wordsworth: A Biographical Sketch with Selections from His Writings in Poetry and Prose
Independence always appeared to me practicable and probable; provided the sentiment of the country could be formed and held to the object.
THOMAS PAINE
Thoughts on the Peace, and the Probable Advantages Thereof to the United States of America
The greatest of all human benefits, that at least without which no other benefit can be truly enjoyed, is independence.
WILLIAM GODWIN
The Enquirer
It's easy to be independent when you've got money. But to be independent when you haven't got a thing--that's the Lord's test.
MAHALIA JACKSON
Movin' On Up
It is not the greatness of a man's means that makes him independent, so much as the smallness of his wants.
W. COBBETT
attributed, Day's Collacon
Independence is a relative term: according to the object you refer to, so is your doctrine about independence true or false. Independence, as against individuals, is favourable to probity. Why? Because it leaves a man more dependent than he would be otherwise on the opinion of the people. Independence, as against a despot, is favourable to probity. Why? Because it not only allows a man to obey those influences which strengthen the bands of his dependence on the people, but obliges him: for under a despot, the strength of the people is the only prop that independence, as it is called, can have to lean on.
JEREMY BENTHAM
Bentham's Draught for the Organization of Judicial Establishments
Gradually, children mature to the point of independence. This stage usually begins when they move away from their parent's home and become self-supporting, making decisions for themselves. Unfortunately, we have over-glamorized this state of being. Even the most independent people still need other people. Most of the satisfactions which make life worthwhile can be gratified only in relation to or with other people.
RUSS HOLLOMAN
Making Marriage User Friendly
Love is generally confused with dependence. Those of us who have grown in true love know that we can love only in proportion to our capacity for independence.
FRED ROGERS
The World According to Mister Rogers
Freedom is the crux of self-respect. It is difficult to feel good about ourselves when we are unnaturally dependent on someone or something.
DAVID J. LIEBERMAN
Find Out Who's Normal and Who's Not
Remember it takes more letters than "I" to form independence. Never forget those that taught and paved the way for you, those that worked or toiled alongside you, or those that were put in a position to serve or assist you -- they all aided in establishing your independence.
THE ACCUMEN GROUP
The Gravitas Manuscript: The World's Key to Wealth, Power, and Influence