I have been ever of the opinion that revolutions are not to be evaded.
—Benjamin Disraeli, 1844Quotes
All successful revolutions are the kicking in of a rotten door. The violence of revolutions is the violence of men who charge into a vacuum.
—John Kenneth Galbraith, 1977Insurgents are like conquerors: they must go forward; the moment they are stopped, they are lost.
—Duke of Wellington, c. 1819Revolutions are always verbose.
—Leon Trotsky, 1933Revolutions are not about trifles, but they are produced by trifles.
—Aristotle, c. 350 BCTo cast aside obedience, and by popular violence to incite revolt, is treason, not against man only, but against God.
—Pope Leo XIII, 1885The brutalities of progress are called revolutions. When they are over we realize this: that the human has been roughly handled, but that it has advanced.
—Victor Hugo, 1862Revolutions are celebrated when they are no longer dangerous.
—Pierre Boulez, 1989It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.
—Dolores Ibárruri, 1936Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
—John F. Kennedy, 1962All revolutions devour their own children.
—Ernst Röhm, 1933Insurrection of thought always precedes insurrection of arms.
—Wendell Phillips, 1859And then, sir, there is this consideration: that if the abuse be enormous, nature will rise up and, claiming her original rights, overturn a corrupt political system.
—Samuel Johnson, 1791