Quotation
Quote by Germaine de Staël
It is liberty which is ancient, and despotism which is modern.
Explore the idea
Understanding this quote
The quote reverses the usual assumption that freedom is a recent idea. It declares that liberty is ancient, while despotism belongs to the modern age. The contrast presents political oppression, not freedom, as the newer condition.
Source & trust
About this quotation
- Source
- Online Library of Liberty
- Format
- Article
Explore the idea
Topics
Join the community
Keep meaningful words close.
Save quotes, follow people and topics, join conversations, and publish words of your own.
Conversation
0 comments
No comments yet.
Start the conversation about this quote.
Read quote“Taking a position is always important, especially in a country like ours, where people many times don't take a stand.”
“Our task is not to defend this world, but to build the world anew.”
“Politik itu kejam. Kejam waktu, kejam disiplin, artinya kita mengejamkan diri.”
“Taiwan has taken the road of democracy, which is a road of no return.”
“This, and whatsoever I myself observed, after attaining years of discretion, for thirty or forty years, I laid up in the strong box (of my memory), and that I have written.”
“We will not share power.”
“I like to have the freedom a novelist has.”
“We answer them by saying that those warnings are not always required to prove the legality of the suspension penalty but to prove the legality of the excommunication.”
“Que en adelante sea nuestra divisa: libertad, orden y progreso; la libertad como medio; el orden como base y el progreso como fin.”
“Hip-hop is an instrument, you can do with it whatever you want.”
When the Harbor Clock Learned to Listen
After a tremor slows her clock repairs, Mara Venn opens her workshop to three unlikely students—and learns that preserving a craft may require changing it.
Read Story