--- title: "4 Anarchist Quotes By Voltairine de Cleyre" description: "4 Anarchist quotes by Voltairine de Cleyre. Plus more from Voltairine de Cleyre and more Anarchist sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a49/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_anarchism_anarchism-to-me-means-not-only-the-denia_550197.jpg" --- > [Anarchism, to me, means not only the denial of authority, not only a new economy, but a revision of the principles of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/anarchism-to-me-means-not-only-the-denial-of-authority-not-only-a-new/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a49/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_anarchism_anarchism-to-me-means-not-only-the-denia_550197.jpg) > [“If this is the price to be paid for an idea, then let us pay. There is no need of being troubled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/if-this-is-the-price-to-be-paid-for-an-idea-then-let-us-pay-there-is/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_anarchism_if-this-is-the-price-to-be-paid-for-an-i_1424302.jpg) > [I die, as I have lived, a free spirit, an Anarchist, owing no allegiance to rulers, heavenly or earthly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/i-die-as-i-have-lived-a-free-spirit-an-anarchist-owing-no-allegiance/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91f/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_allegiance_i-die-as-i-have-lived-a-free-spirit-an-a_1748896.jpg) > [Among the fundamental likeness between the Revolutionary Republicans and the Anarchists is the recognition that the little must precede the great; that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/among-the-fundamental-likeness-between-the-revolutionary-republicans/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c97/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_anarchism_among-the-fundamental-likeness-between-t_2880943.jpg) ## Other authors on Anarchist - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b018/author-murray-bookchin-69610.jpg) Murray Bookchin 19 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/murray-bookchin/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b018/author-noam-chomsky-71799.jpg) Noam Chomsky 16 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/noam-chomsky/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b009/author-emma-goldman-33179.jpg) Emma Goldman 10 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/emma-goldman/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b019/author-peter-kropotkin-74908.jpg) Peter Kropotkin 8 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/peter-kropotkin/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b005/author-benjamin-tucker-17200.jpg) Benjamin Tucker 8 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/benjamin-tucker/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b013/author-johann-most-50766.jpg) Johann Most 7 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/johann-most/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b011/author-howard-zinn-42481.jpg) Howard Zinn 7 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/howard-zinn/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b001/author-g-k-chesterton-224.jpg) G.K. Chesterton 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/g-k-chesterton/) - [Errico Malatesta 6 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/errico-malatesta/) - [Ammon Hennacy 6 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/ammon-hennacy/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b004/author-april-gornik-14426.jpg) Rudolf Rocker 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/rudolf-rocker/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b001/author-george-bernard-shaw-68.jpg) George Bernard Shaw 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More by Voltairine de Cleyre > [And now, what has Anarchism to say to all this, this bankruptcy of republicanism, this modern empire that has grown up on the ruins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/and-now-what-has-anarchism-to-say-to-all-this-this-bankruptcy-of/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [“It is the city that is wrong, and its creations can never be right; they may be improved; they can never be what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/it-is-the-city-that-is-wrong-and-its-creations-can-never-be-right/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [Private enterprise manages better all that to which it is equal. Anarchism declares that private enterprise, whether individual or cooperative, is equal to all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/private-enterprise-manages-better-all-that-to-which-it-is-equal/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [No one can hate petitions worse than I, and no one has less faith in them than I. But for my champion I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/no-one-can-hate-petitions-worse-than-i-and-no-one-has-less-faith-in/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [A standing army is a standing menace to liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/a-standing-army-is-a-standing-menace-to-liberty/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [ “\[T\]o remain in a continually exalted moral condition is not human nature.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/t-o-remain-in-a-continually-exalted-moral-condition-is-not-human/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [“As to the essence of Commerce and Manufacture, it is this: to establish bonds between every corner of the earth’s surface and every other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/as-to-the-essence-of-commerce-and-manufacture-it-is-this-to-establish/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [Anarchism, to me, means not only the denial of authority, not only a new economy, but a revision of the principles of morality. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/anarchism-to-me-means-not-only-the-denial-of-authority-not-only-a-new/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [There is one common struggle against those who have appropriated the earth, the money, and the machines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/there-is-one-common-struggle-against-those-who-have-appropriated-the/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [“It is understood that when we speak of history we do not allude to the unspeakable trash contained in public school text-books (which in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/it-is-understood-that-when-we-speak-of-history-we-do-not-allude-to/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [“Nearly all the laws which were originally framed with the intention of benefiting the workers, have either turned into weapons in their enemies’ hands,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/nearly-all-the-laws-which-were-originally-framed-with-the-intention/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [ \[The married woman is\] is a bonded slave, who takes her master's name, her master's bread, and serves her master's passion; \[and\] who passes… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/the-married-woman-is-is-a-bonded-slave-who-takes-her-master-s-name/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [Is it not enough that 'things are cruel and blind'? Must we also be cruel and blind?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/is-it-not-enough-that-things-are-cruel-and-blind-must-we-also-be/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [The revolution is ... the blow dealt ... agains the counter force of tyranny, which has never entirely recovered from the blow, but which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/the-revolution-is-the-blow-dealt-agains-the-counter-force-of-tyranny/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [... it is better to study how to live rather than how to die; ... it is better to have a religion of deeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/it-is-better-to-study-how-to-live-rather-than-how-to-die-it-is-better/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/voltairine-de-cleyre/#itemlist", "name": "4 Anarchist Quotes By Voltairine de Cleyre", "numberOfItems": 4, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Anarchism, to me, means not only the denial of authority, not only a new economy, but a revision of the principles of morality. It means the development of the individual as well as the assertion of the individual. It means self-responsibility, and not leader worship.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Voltairine de Cleyre" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/anarchism-to-me-means-not-only-the-denial-of-authority-not-only-a-new/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a49/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_anarchism_anarchism-to-me-means-not-only-the-denia_550197.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a49/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_anarchism_anarchism-to-me-means-not-only-the-denia_550197.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a49/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_anarchism_anarchism-to-me-means-not-only-the-denia_550197.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Anarchism, to me, means not only the denial of authority, not only a new economy, but a revision of the…” — Voltairine de Cleyre", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If this is the price to be paid for an idea, then let us pay. There is no need of being troubled about it, afraid, or ashamed. This is the time to boldly say, “Yes, I believe in the displacement of this system of injustice by a just one; I believe in the end of starvation, exposure, and the crimes caused by them; I believe in the human soul regnant over all laws which man has made or will make; I believe there is no peace now, and there will never be peace, so long as one rules over another; I believe in the total disintegration and dissolution of the principle and practice of authority; I am an Anarchist, and if for this you condemn me, I stand ready to receive your condemnation.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Voltairine de Cleyre" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/if-this-is-the-price-to-be-paid-for-an-idea-then-let-us-pay-there-is/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_anarchism_if-this-is-the-price-to-be-paid-for-an-i_1424302.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_anarchism_if-this-is-the-price-to-be-paid-for-an-i_1424302.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_anarchism_if-this-is-the-price-to-be-paid-for-an-i_1424302.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If this is the price to be paid for an idea, then let us pay. There is no need of being troubled about it…” — Voltairine de Cleyre", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I die, as I have lived, a free spirit, an Anarchist, owing no allegiance to rulers, heavenly or earthly.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Voltairine de Cleyre" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/i-die-as-i-have-lived-a-free-spirit-an-anarchist-owing-no-allegiance/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91f/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_allegiance_i-die-as-i-have-lived-a-free-spirit-an-a_1748896.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91f/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_allegiance_i-die-as-i-have-lived-a-free-spirit-an-a_1748896.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91f/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_allegiance_i-die-as-i-have-lived-a-free-spirit-an-a_1748896.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I die, as I have lived, a free spirit, an Anarchist, owing no allegiance to rulers, heavenly or earthly.” — Voltairine de Cleyre", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Among the fundamental likeness between the Revolutionary Republicans and the Anarchists is the recognition that the little must precede the great; that the local must be the basis of the general; that there can be a free federation only when there are free communities to federate; that the spirit of the latter is carried into the councils of the former, and a local tyranny may thus become an instrument for general enslavement.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Voltairine de Cleyre" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/among-the-fundamental-likeness-between-the-revolutionary-republicans/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c97/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_anarchism_among-the-fundamental-likeness-between-t_2880943.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c97/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_anarchism_among-the-fundamental-likeness-between-t_2880943.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c97/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_anarchism_among-the-fundamental-likeness-between-t_2880943.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Among the fundamental likeness between the Revolutionary Republicans and the Anarchists is the recognition…” — Voltairine de Cleyre", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/voltairine-de-cleyre/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/voltairine-de-cleyre/", "name": "Anarchist Quotes by Voltairine de Cleyre", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/voltairine-de-cleyre/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a49/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_anarchism_anarchism-to-me-means-not-only-the-denia_550197.jpg" }, "description": "4 Anarchist quotes by Voltairine de Cleyre. Plus more from Voltairine de Cleyre and more Anarchist sayings from other authors.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/voltairine-de-cleyre/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/voltairine-de-cleyre/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Topics", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Anarchist", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "name": "Voltairine de Cleyre", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/voltairine-de-cleyre/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```