--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Is it just or reasonable, that most…" description: "\"Is it just or reasonable, that most voices against the main end of government should enslave the less number that would be free? more just it is, doubt..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/john-milton-191_baseness_is-it-just-or-reasonable-that-most-voice_2413427.jpg" --- # Is it just or reasonable, that most voices against the… ![“Is it just or reasonable, that most voices against the main end of government should enslave the less number that would be free? more just it is, doubtless, if it come to force, that a less number compel a greater to retain, which can be no wrong to them, their liberty, than that a greater number…” quote by John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/john-milton-191_baseness_is-it-just-or-reasonable-that-most-voice_2413427.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/john-milton-191_baseness_is-it-just-or-reasonable-that-most-voice_2413427.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/john-milton-191_baseness_is-it-just-or-reasonable-that-most-voice_2413427.jpg) > “Is it just or reasonable, that most voices against the main end of government should enslave the less number that would be free? more just it is, doubtless, if it come to force, that a less number compel a greater to retain, which can be no wrong to them, their liberty, than that a greater number, for the pleasure of their baseness, compel a less most injuriously to be their fellow-slaves. They who seek nothing but their own just liberty, have always right to win it and to keep it, whenever they have power, be the voices never so numerous that oppose it.” [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Power often forces the majority to oppress minorities, but those seeking true liberty must resist domination regardless of numbers. **In simple terms:** Majority can oppress minority; true liberty resists domination. Key Takeaway Stand up for justice even when outnumbered. Themes justice power freedom Mood serious determined Type philosophical political When to use this quote - civil rights movements - authoritarian regimes - grassroots activism - legal reforms Key Concepts political theory ethical resistance Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities do the powerful have to protect the vulnerable? - How can minorities influence majority decisions? A Different Perspective Majorities can also protect minorities; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Baseness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baseness/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) ## Related quotes > [I desire not to keep my place in this government an hour longer than I may preserve England in its just rights, and may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-cromwell/i-desire-not-to-keep-my-place-in-this-government-an-hour-longer-than/) [Oliver Cromwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-cromwell/) > [The basic function of the government everywhere in all times, whatever title it adopts and whatever its origin and organisation may be, is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errico-malatesta/the-basic-function-of-the-government-everywhere-in-all-times-whatever/) [Errico Malatesta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errico-malatesta/) > [“I T WAS the wrong Liberty. One hundred and four miles south- west from its Colored namesake, Liberty Township.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-bond/i-t-was-the-wrong-liberty-one-hundred-and-four-miles-south-west-from/) [Cynthia Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-bond/) > [Wrong is wrong only when you are at liberty to choose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/wrong-is-wrong-only-when-you-are-at-liberty-to-choose/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [There are multitudes of persons whose idea of liberty is the right to do what they please, instead of the right of doing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/there-are-multitudes-of-persons-whose-idea-of-liberty-is-the-right-to/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [ Intellectual liberty \[is\] the right to think right and the right to think wrong. Thought is the means by which we endeavor to arrive… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/intellectual-liberty-is-the-right-to-think-right-and-the-right-to/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [I believe in limited government and the right of the individual to make choices and in a strong national defense and in freedom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rove/i-believe-in-limited-government-and-the-right-of-the-individual-to/) [Karl Rove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rove/) > [To the medieval mind a liberty was a right to the enjoyment of a specific property It was a freedom to do something with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-bryant/to-the-medieval-mind-a-liberty-was-a-right-to-the-enjoyment-of-a/) [Arthur Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-bryant/) > [At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-kennedy/at-the-heart-of-liberty-is-the-right-to-define-one-s-own-concept-of/) [Anthony Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kennedy/) > [Liberty is the right to choose. 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The rites ye sacred hold Are but a cheat contrived by men of old Who lusted after wealth and gained their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ma-arri/o-fools-awake-the-rites-ye-sacred-hold-are-but-a-cheat-contrived-by/) [Al-Maʿarri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ma-arri/) > [There are only two great currents in the history of mankind: the baseness which makes conservatives and the envy which makes revolutionaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmond-de-goncourt/there-are-only-two-great-currents-in-the-history-of-mankind-the/) [Edmond de Goncourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmond-de-goncourt/) > [Nothing is more repugnant to me than brotherly feelings grounded in the common baseness people see in one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/nothing-is-more-repugnant-to-me-than-brotherly-feelings-grounded-in/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [No, no, there must be a limit to the baseness even of publishers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/no-no-there-must-be-a-limit-to-the-baseness-even-of-publishers/) [Dorothy L. 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