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I cannot approve of monarchs who want to rule over the conscience of the people, and take away their freedom of choice and religion.

— William the Silent

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More quotes by William the Silent

One need not hope in order to undertake, nor succeed in order to persevere.

O Canada: An American's Notes on Canadian Culture (1963)

Our friends and allies are all turned cold.

I am in the hands of God, my worldly goods and my life have long since been dedicated to his service.

We must have patience and not lose heart, submitting to the will of God, and striving incessantly, as I have resolved to do, come what may.

They stormed Oudewater, and delivered it over to all imaginable cruelties, sparing neither sex nor age.

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All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.

Albert Einstein Moral Decay (1937)

Science and religion are two human enterprises sharing many features.

Freeman Dyson Infinite in All Directions (1988)

The moment the idea is admitted into society, that property is not as sacred as the law of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.

John Adams A Defence of the Constitutions of Government (1787)

The Puritan hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators.

Thomas Babington Macaulay History of England (1849)

Attribution

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