Quote#Freedom
You may talk of the tyranny of Nero and Tiberius; but the real…
Quote byWalter Bagehot · 1826–1877
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Biographical Studies (1907), Sir Robert Peel.
English (original)
You may talk of the tyranny of Nero and Tiberius; but the real tyranny is the tyranny of your next-door neighbor... Public opinion is a permeating influence, and it exacts obedience to itself; it requires us to think other men's thoughts, to speak other men's words, to follow other men's habits.
— Walter Bagehot
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