An oppressed people are authorized, whenever they can, to rise and break their fetters.
—Henry Clay, 1842Quotes
All modern revolutions have ended in a reinforcement of the power of the state.
—Albert Camus, 1951I began revolution with eighty-two men. If I had to do it again, I do it with ten or fifteen and absolute faith. It does not matter how small you are if you have faith and plan of action.
—Fidel Castro, 1959
Revolutions are not made by men in spectacles.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, 1871Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.
—Benjamin Franklin, 1776To escape its wretched lot, the populace has three ways, two imaginary and one real. The first two are the rum shop and the church; the third is the social revolution.
—Mikhail Bakunin, 1871Revolutions are celebrated when they are no longer dangerous.
—Pierre Boulez, 1989Revolutionaries are greater sticklers for formality than conservatives.
—Italo Calvino, 1957Revolutions have never lightened the burden of tyranny, they have only shifted it to another shoulder.
—George Bernard Shaw, 1903