FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS
(from Devotions upon Emergent Occasions)
JOHN DONNE c.1571-1631
No man is an island, entire of itself;
every man is a piece of the continent,
a part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less,
as well as if a promontory were,
as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were:
Any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind,
and therefore
never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
it tolls for thee.
Samuel Adams, speech at the Philadelphia State House, August 1, 1776
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquillity of servitude better
than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not
your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May
your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our
countrymen.
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), Letter to Josiah Quincy, Sept. 11, 1773
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.