"The surest way to work up a crusade in favor of some good cause is to promise people they will have a chance of maltreating someone. To be able to destroy with good conscience, to be able to behave badly and call your bad behavior 'righteous indignation' — this is the height of psychological luxury, the most delicious of moral treats."
So much of what passes for politics and morality is contained in that quote. The same could be said of humour too of course (which is often cruel). Maybe that's why the modern progressive is marked by humourlessness? Their hatred is directed into "causes" rather than jokes.
“The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny.”
— Aesop
“It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong.”
— Voltaire
“We must beware of a tyranny of opinion which tries to make only one side of a question the one which may be heard.”
— Winston Churchill
“The greatest tyrannies are always perpetrated in the name of the noblest causes.”
— Thomas Paine
“Mighty little force is needed to control a man whose mind has been hoodwinked; contrariwise, no amount of force can control a free man, a man whose mind is free. No, not the rack, not fission bombs, not anything—you can’t conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him.”
This is just the first in a series of posts that I hope will eventually form a useful library of quotes on Substack built around themes and authors.
Coming up soon:
- Quotes on cowardice and conformity
- Quotes on moral courage
- Quotes by Thomas Sowell
- Quotes by Roger Scruton
"The surest way to work up a crusade in favor of some good cause is to promise people they will have a chance of maltreating someone. To be able to destroy with good conscience, to be able to behave badly and call your bad behavior 'righteous indignation' — this is the height of psychological luxury, the most delicious of moral treats."
Aldous Huxley, Crome Yellow
It's a brilliant quote, and I only discovered it recently. I like it so much I included it in my recent post: On the Pleasures of Hating:
https://www.gadflynotes.com/p/on-the-pleasures-of-hating
So much of what passes for politics and morality is contained in that quote. The same could be said of humour too of course (which is often cruel). Maybe that's why the modern progressive is marked by humourlessness? Their hatred is directed into "causes" rather than jokes.
Yes, very much so. I get into that in my piece: Why Fanatics Hate Irony.
I suspect we think alike, Robert.
This one is a tad oblique on the question of freedom, but I love it so much:
“The essence of tyranny is the denial of complexity.”
-Jacob Burckhardt
That's excellent! Not heard that before. Thanks.
"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use" - Søren Kierkegaard.
Excellent, I added that in. Thanks.
“The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny.”
— Aesop
“It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong.”
— Voltaire
“We must beware of a tyranny of opinion which tries to make only one side of a question the one which may be heard.”
— Winston Churchill
“The greatest tyrannies are always perpetrated in the name of the noblest causes.”
— Thomas Paine
“Mighty little force is needed to control a man whose mind has been hoodwinked; contrariwise, no amount of force can control a free man, a man whose mind is free. No, not the rack, not fission bombs, not anything—you can’t conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him.”
—Robert A. Heinlein
Great selection. I'm going to add the Voltaire one, which I especially like. Thanks!
I think I like the Lewis one the best, and Mill and Madisons are right on the edge, and can be used for the “good intentions”, Lewis is warning about.
Good point