Re: San Francisco Chronicle column
- From: Otis Bricker <obricker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 18:28:32 -0600
Martin Ambuhl <mambuhl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
news:5qbmivFu6pptU1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:
Otis Bricker wrote:
"Chris Pisarra" <Chris@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
news:Q-SdnVsMMsJ6QKLanZ2dnUVZ_tSknZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxx:
Those who would give up a little liberty in exchange for a little
security deserve neither.
---Thomas Jefferson
You might want to confirm this quote.
It is possible that Jefferson did say that though I can find nothing
recording it. It does sound quite similar to a quote by one of his
contempories though.
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little
temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Benjamin
Franklin
It too is often misquoted, leaving out the important
words,'essential' and 'temporary'.
You might want to confirm this quote.
It is from the anonymous pamphet "An Historical Review of the
Constitution and Government of Pennsylvania" (London, 1759) which
attributes it to a letter from the Assembly to the Governor of
Pennsylvania (1755). Franklin denied having written either, although
he
may well have been the original (oral) source even if he did not
write
it (see below, for a bald -- though unconfirmed -- claim that he was
the originator). John Bartlett in his _Familiar Quotations_ either
did not know that Franklin denied authorship, accepting his source
Frothingham uncritically, or called him a liar: 'This sentence was
much used in the Revolutionary period. It occurs even so early as
November, 1755, in an answer by the Assembly of Pennsylvania to the
Governor, and forms the motto of Franklinâ??s â??Historical Review,â??
1759, appearing also in the body of the work.â??Frothingham: Rise of
the Republic of the United States, p. 413.'
As for Chris Pisarra's attribution to Jefferson: the Jefferson Library
at <http://www.monticello.org/library/reference/spurious.html> has
under "Misattributed quotes":
"Those who sacrifice freedom for safety deserve neither."
The earliest source of this quote actually seems to be Benjamin
Franklin. The original quote is as follows: "Those who would give
up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety,
deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Franklin first said this in
the Pennsylvania Assembly's November 11, 1755 reply to the
Governor, and it appears in The Papers of Benjamin Franklin v. 6,
p. 242 (ed. Labaree). You can see a slightly altered version at
Bartleby.com. This quote also appears on the Statue of Liberty.
I guess the actual authorship is still in the air. My understanding is
that despite his denial, the general consensus among Franklin scholars is
that he did author that statement in the Letter to the Governor though
someone else is thought to be the primary author of the letter itself. At
least it was when I last looked into this 20 years or so ago. Not that
consensus is the same as fact but without devoting a significant amount
of my time to research on the matter, I accept the attribution but with
reservations. It is not my area of expertise.
Thanks for pointing out the doubt surrounding the quote. I had forgotten
that there was some dispute.
.
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