"There is no such thing as freedom of choice unless there is freedom to refuse."
"Let us consider what we call vicious luxury. No gratification, however sensual, can of itself be esteemed vicious. A gratification is only vicious when it engrosses all a man's expense, and leaves no ability for such acts of duty and generosity as are required by his situation and fortune. The same care and toil that raise a dish of peas at Christmas would give bread to a whole family during six months."
6 likes
Source: David Hume, Stephen Copley, Andrew Edgar (2008). “Selected Essays”, p.176, Oxford University Press
About the author
Same author
More quotes by David Hume
"Nothing is more surprising than the easiness with which the many are governed by the few."
"Beauty in things exists in the mind which contemplates them."
"It is seldom, that liberty of any kind is lost all at once. Slavery has so frightful an aspect to men accustomed to freedom, that it must steal upon them by degrees, and must disguise itself in a thousand shapes, in order to be received."
"A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence."
"When men are most sure and arrogant they are commonly most mistaken, giving views to passion without that proper deliberation which alone can secure them from the grossest absurdities."