West Point - Top of his class- great warrior-freedom lover:Robert E. Lee:
"The truth is this: the march of Providence is so slow and our desires are so impatient; the work of progress is so immense and our means of aiding it so feeble; the life of humanity is so long and that of the individual so brief, that we often see only the ebb of the advancing wave and are thus discouraged. It is history that teaches us hope."
-General Robert E. Lee
(pictured as a young lieutenant in 1831)
"Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."
"Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."
-C. S. Lewis
"So great moreover is the regard of the law for private property, that it will not authorize the least violation of it; no, not even for the general good of the whole community."
- Sir William Blackstone (1723-1780), Commentary on the Laws of England
Quote #126: on the sanctity of private property
"So great moreover is the regard of the law for private property, that it will not authorize the least violation of it; no, not even for the general good of the whole community."
- Sir William Blackstone (1723-1780), Commentary on the Laws of England
7 comments:
Hey, thanks for linking to me in your blog-roll. I will reciprocate immediately!
well-thank you Mark-
I enjoy reading all of your sites-
Robert E. Lee was a thinker wasn't he? Many people view Lee as a villain because of his role in the Civil War, but the truth is always much more complicated than merely affixing a label. As I read the thoughts of these men I stand in awe of their use of the language to describe exactly what they mean. Precise construction and beautiful eloquence combined into an exact meaning. I have always endeavored to write that way, but I fear that I have a long ways to go before I achieve that level of sophistication.
Aside form the craftsmanship of their writing, the sentiments are much more important. Lee's recognition that a human life is, but a snapshot in time when compared to the life of humanity. Lewis' recognition that a busybody is a worse tyrant than a dictator, and Sir William Blackstone's writings on the law and private property illuminate just how far America has fallen given our recent history. Much to think about.
Happy New Year Carol, may it bring you much success and contentment!
Great Quotes! And very illustrative of how far we have wandered as a country.
WS-the great thinkers/writers are my ideal as well--
Thank you for your well wishes-
My book_Random Thoughts_will be finished by Sept-(that seems like a good goal)!
TK-my take-it is time we wrest our Ed System from the hands of the 'progressives'-
"It is history that teaches us hope."
Exactly right, it's hard to see it, but we have faced far worse and have triumphed.
MK-INDEED!
Life - Liberty- Property
(history remembered is history repeated if it is good and history not repeated if it is bad)
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