"There are thousands who are in opinion opposed to slavery and to the war, who yet in effect do nothing to put an end to them; who, esteeming themselves children of Washington and Franklin, sit down with their hands in their pockets, and say that they know not what to do, and do nothing; who even postpone the question of freedom to the question of free-trade, and quietly read the prices-current along with the latest advices from Mexico, after dinner, and, it may be, fall asleep over them both. What is the price-current of an honest man and patriot to-day? They hesitate, and they regret, and sometimes they petition; but they do nothing in earnest and with effect. They will wait, well disposed, for others to remedy the evil, that they may no longer have it to regret. At most, they give only a cheap vote, and a feeble countenance and Godspeed, to the right, as it goes by them. There are nine hundred and ninety-nine patrons of virtue to one virtuous man; but it is easier to deal with the real possessor of a thing than with the temporary guardian of it."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Civil_Disobedience_(Thoreau)
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Civil Disobedience (Thoreau)
Civil Disobedience (1849) is an essay by Henry David Thoreau expressing his belief that people should not allow governments to overrule or atrophy their consciences and that people have a duty both to avoid doing injustice directly and to avoid allowing their acquiescence to enable the government to make them the agents of injustice. Thoreau was motivated in part by his disgust with slavery and the Mexican-American War.
42 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Civil Disobedience (Thoreau) →
Related Quotes
"The lawyer's truth is not truth, but consistency or a consistent expediency. Truth is always in harmony with herself,…"
"I heartily accept the motto, "That government is best which governs least"; and I should like to see it acted up to m…"
"To speak practically and as a citizen, unlike those who call themselves no-government men, I ask for, not at once no …"
"The mass of men serve the state […], not as men mainly, but as machines, with their bodies. They are the standing arm…"
"He who gives himself entirely to his fellow-men appears to them useless and selfish; but he who gives himself partial…"
"How does it become a man to behave toward this American government today? I answered that he cannot without disgrace …"
"All men recognize the right of revolution; that is, the right to refuse allegiance to, and to resist, the government,…"
"All machines have their friction; and possibly this does enough good to counterbalance the evil. At any rate, it is a…"
"We are accustomed to say, that the mass of men are unprepared; but improvement is slow, because the few are not mater…"
"Statesmen and legislators, standing so completely within the institution, never distinctly and nakedly behold it. The…"