| Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations. 1989. | | | |
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| | | NUMBER: | 1056 |
| AUTHOR: | Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) |
| QUOTATION: | Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. |
| ATTRIBUTION: | BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, Pennsylvania Assembly: Reply to the Governor, November 11, 1755.—The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, ed. Leonard W. Labaree, vol. 6, p. 242 (1963).
This quotation, slightly altered, is inscribed on a plaque in the stairwell of the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty: “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” |
| SUBJECTS: | Liberty |
| WORKS: | Benjamin Franklin Collection | | |
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