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Quote#Freedom

Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, an aliment without which…

Quote byJames Madison · 1751–1836

Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Federalist Papers (1787–1788), Federalist No. 10.

English (original)

Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires. But it could not be less folly to abolish liberty, which is essential to political life, because it nourishes faction, than it would be to wish the annihilation of air, which is essential to animal life, because it imparts to fire its destructive agency.

— James Madison

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