One should respect public opinion in so far as is necessary to avoid starvation and to keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny

Quote by Bertrand Russell

Topics: Opinions Quotes

Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation can be trusted to act humanely...

Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation can be trusted to act humanely...

So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in...

So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in...

Men who allow their love of power to give them a distorted view of the...

Men who allow their love of power to give them a distorted view of the...

I had supposed until that time that it was quite common for parents to love...

I had supposed until that time that it was quite common for parents to love...

Vanity is a motive of immense potency.

Vanity is a motive of immense potency.

Law in origin was merely a codification of the power of dominant groups, and did...

Law in origin was merely a codification of the power of dominant groups, and did...

Sin is geographical.

Sin is geographical.

By self-interest, Man has become gregarious, but in instinct he has remained to a great...

By self-interest, Man has become gregarious, but in instinct he has remained to a great...

It is not by prayer and humility that you cause things to go as you...

It is not by prayer and humility that you cause things to go as you...

For over two thousand years it has been the custom among earnest moralists to decry...

For over two thousand years it has been the custom among earnest moralists to decry...

All movements go too far.

All movements go too far.

A life without adventure is likely to be unsatisfying, but a life in which adventure...

A life without adventure is likely to be unsatisfying, but a life in which adventure...

Dread of disaster makes everybody act in the very way that increases the disaster. Psychologically...

Dread of disaster makes everybody act in the very way that increases the disaster. Psychologically...

Boredom is... a vital problem for the moralist, since half the sins of mankind are...

Boredom is... a vital problem for the moralist, since half the sins of mankind are...

To a modern mind, it is difficult to feel enthusiastic about a virtuous life if...

To a modern mind, it is difficult to feel enthusiastic about a virtuous life if...

I am a firm believer in democratic representative government as the best form for those...

I am a firm believer in democratic representative government as the best form for those...

No matter how eloquently a dog may bark, he cannot tell you that his parents...

No matter how eloquently a dog may bark, he cannot tell you that his parents...

Obscenity is whatever happens to shock some elderly and ignorant magistrate.

Obscenity is whatever happens to shock some elderly and ignorant magistrate.

When I was young there was no respect for the young, and now that I...

When I was young there was no respect for the young, and now that I...

Old men must die, or the word would grow moldy, would only breed the past...

Old men must die, or the word would grow moldy, would only breed the past...