---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not by great acts but by small…"
description: "\"It is not by great acts but by small failures that freedom dies. . . . Justice and liberty die quietly, because men first learn to ignore injustice and..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b55/charles-morgan-jr-227044_dies_it-is-not-by-great-acts-but-by-small-fai_3124240.png"
---

#  It is not by great acts but by small failures that freedom…

![“It is not by great acts but by small failures that freedom dies. . . . Justice and liberty die quietly, because men first learn to ignore injustice and then no longer recognize it.” quote by Charles Morgan Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b55/charles-morgan-jr-227044_dies_it-is-not-by-great-acts-but-by-small-fai_3124240.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b55/charles-morgan-jr-227044_dies_it-is-not-by-great-acts-but-by-small-fai_3124240.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b55/charles-morgan-jr-227044_dies_it-is-not-by-great-acts-but-by-small-fai_3124240.png)

> “It is not by great acts but by small failures that freedom dies. . . . Justice and liberty die quietly, because men first learn to ignore injustice and then no longer recognize it.”

Charles Morgan Jr

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Freedom and justice erode not through grand acts but via small, unnoticed failures and collective indifference to injustice.

**In simple terms:** Small failures kill liberty.

Key Takeaway

Stay vigilant against complacency.

Themes

freedom justice failure indifference society

Mood

somber urgent

Type

political philosophical

When to use this quote

- activism
- policy making
- community organizing

Key Concepts

political theory ethics social responsibility

Questions to Reflect On

- What small failures threaten liberty?
- How to sustain vigilance?

A Different Perspective

Minor issues can be overlooked.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Injustice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injustice/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/)

## Related quotes

> [It is not by great acts but by small failures that freedom dies. The sense of justice dies slowly in a people. They grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-morgan/it-is-not-by-great-acts-but-by-small-failures-that-freedom-dies-the/)

[Charles Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-morgan/)

> [The ways that I began to relate to other women as a woman wasn't around 'We're so fierce,' or something like that, but around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/the-ways-that-i-began-to-relate-to-other-women-as-a-woman-wasn-t/)

[Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/)

> [“Injustice is a cold, unrelenting reality. It can be tempting for us to use our comfort to ignore injustice or rationalize it away. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wytsma/injustice-is-a-cold-unrelenting-reality-it-can-be-tempting-for-us-to/)

[Ken Wytsma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wytsma/)

> [Freedom is something that dies unless it's used.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/freedom-is-something-that-dies-unless-it-s-used/)

[Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/)

> [When the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act, Sarah Palin tweeted, 'Obama lies; freedom dies.' She's referring, I guess, to the freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-trumka/when-the-u-s-supreme-court-upheld-the-affordable-care-act-sarah-palin/)

[Richard Trumka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-trumka/)

> [“Don’t you understand that freedom depends upon the continuing possibility of rebel violence. When violence becomes unthinkable, freedom dies…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-b-southwell/don-t-you-understand-that-freedom-depends-upon-the-continuing/)

Samuel B. Southwell

> [Where the very safety of the country depends upon the resolution to be taken, no consideration of justice or injustice, humanity or cruelty, nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/where-the-very-safety-of-the-country-depends-upon-the-resolution-to/)

[Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/)

> [That humanity and sincerity which dispose men to resist injustice and tyranny render them unfit to cope with the cunning and power of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-humanity-and-sincerity-which-dispose-men-to-resist-injustice-and/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Rather than being incensed by the nature of the bruise, maybe we should be inspired by the possibilities in the bruise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/rather-than-being-incensed-by-the-nature-of-the-bruise-maybe-we/)

[Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/)

> [Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs. With this creed, revenge never worries my heart, degradation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/life-appears-to-me-too-short-to-be-spent-in-nursing-animosity-or/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [Nothing better protects a human being against the stupidity of prejudice, racism, religious or political sectarianism, and exclusivist nationalism than this truth that invariably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/nothing-better-protects-a-human-being-against-the-stupidity-of/)

[Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/)

> [And I've never taken up a sport just because it was a social fad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-shore/and-i-ve-never-taken-up-a-sport-just-because-it-was-a-social-fad/)

[Dinah Shore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-shore/)

> [Progress is the injustice each generation commits with regard to its predecessors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/progress-is-the-injustice-each-generation-commits-with-regard-to-its/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. But there is perfect injustice, and we know it when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/there-is-no-perfect-justice-just-as-there-is-no-absolute-in-ethics/)

[Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/)

> [“Don't let cycles of violent crimes, uncontrollable, rising cases of bloody impunity, evil puppets in a crippled judiciary, marionettes in a corrupted legislative system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelica-hopes/don-t-let-cycles-of-violent-crimes-uncontrollable-rising-cases-of/)

[Angelica Hopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelica-hopes/)

## More Dies quotes

> [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/)

[Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/)

> [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/)

[Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/)

> [Don't even think for a moment that you are not going to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzongsar-jamyang-khyentse-rinpoche/don-t-even-think-for-a-moment-that-you-are-not-going-to-die/)

[Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzongsar-jamyang-khyentse-rinpoche/)

> [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/)

[Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/)

> [I wonder: when a Jehovah's Witness dies and goes to Heaven, does God hide behind the door and pretend He's not home?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-celio/i-wonder-when-a-jehovah-s-witness-dies-and-goes-to-heaven-does-god/)

[Brian Celio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-celio/)

> [Certainly, it is. Love is love, and loss is loss. We all love, and we all die, and everyone suffers the pain of grieving.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynsay-sands/certainly-it-is-love-is-love-and-loss-is-loss-we-all-love-and-we-all/)

[Lynsay Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynsay-sands/)

> [“When he stops giving you butterflies, Love dies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-blanchard/when-he-stops-giving-you-butterflies-love-dies/)

Michelle Blanchard

> [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/)

[Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/)

> [I don't want to just die a normal death, I wanna be killed twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/i-don-t-want-to-just-die-a-normal-death-i-wanna-be-killed-twice/)

[Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/)

> [My father thrives on fear. You know that prayer If I should die before I wake? I had sheets that said that!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/my-father-thrives-on-fear-you-know-that-prayer-if-i-should-die-before/)

[Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/)

> [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/)

[Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/)

> [This mind is a prison. It cannot find any freedom anywhere. It must die before freedom comes to you. But we have taken the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/this-mind-is-a-prison-it-cannot-find-any-freedom-anywhere-it-must-die/)

[Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/)

> [An artist's creative energy is ephemeral as a flower. It blooms and soon dies. No artist is great forever. Personally, I think I reached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ki-duk/an-artist-s-creative-energy-is-ephemeral-as-a-flower-it-blooms-and/)

[Kim Ki-duk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ki-duk/)

> [If you’re going to die on screen, you’ve got to be strong and in good health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-garbo/if-you-re-going-to-die-on-screen-you-ve-got-to-be-strong-and-in-good/)

[Greta Garbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-garbo/)

Browse all 7,484 Dies quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "It is not by great acts but by small failures that freedom dies. . . . Justice and liberty die quietly, because men first learn to ignore injustice and then no longer recognize it.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Charles Morgan Jr"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-morgan-jr/it-is-not-by-great-acts-but-by-small-failures-that-freedom-dies/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Dies"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-morgan-jr/it-is-not-by-great-acts-but-by-small-failures-that-freedom-dies/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b55/charles-morgan-jr-227044_dies_it-is-not-by-great-acts-but-by-small-fai_3124240.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b55/charles-morgan-jr-227044_dies_it-is-not-by-great-acts-but-by-small-fai_3124240.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b55/charles-morgan-jr-227044_dies_it-is-not-by-great-acts-but-by-small-fai_3124240.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It is not by great acts but by small failures that freedom dies. . . . Justice and liberty die quietly…” — Charles Morgan Jr",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "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": "Charles Morgan Jr",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-morgan-jr/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "It is not by great acts...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-morgan-jr/it-is-not-by-great-acts-but-by-small-failures-that-freedom-dies/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-morgan-jr/it-is-not-by-great-acts-but-by-small-failures-that-freedom-dies/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
