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It is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that Syren, till she transforms us to beasts.

— Patrick Henry The Modern Reader and Speaker (1879)

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More quotes by Patrick Henry

The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.

I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past.

Speech in the Second Virginia Convention (1775)

The great object is that every man be armed… Everyone who is able may have a gun.

I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past.

Speech in the Second Virginia Convention (1775)

I know of no way of judging the future but by the past.

Speech in the Virginia Convention (1775)

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Patrick Henry (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.