--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we are to cherish freedom, and to…" description: "\"If we are to cherish freedom, and to guard it, we must remember what the alternative is: the bread of affliction and the bitter herbs of slavery.\" — Jo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/jonathan-sacks-2788_affliction_if-we-are-to-cherish-freedom-and-to-guar_2837712.png" --- # If we are to cherish freedom, and to guard it, we must… ![“If we are to cherish freedom, and to guard it, we must remember what the alternative is: the bread of affliction and the bitter herbs of slavery.” quote by Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/jonathan-sacks-2788_affliction_if-we-are-to-cherish-freedom-and-to-guar_2837712.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/jonathan-sacks-2788_affliction_if-we-are-to-cherish-freedom-and-to-guar_2837712.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/jonathan-sacks-2788_affliction_if-we-are-to-cherish-freedom-and-to-guar_2837712.png) > “If we are to cherish freedom, and to guard it, we must remember what the alternative is: the bread of affliction and the bitter herbs of slavery.” [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freedom must be guarded by remembering the suffering of oppression and the harshness of slavery. **In simple terms:** Remember oppression to protect freedom. Key Takeaway Never take liberty for granted. Themes freedom memory oppression vigilance Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - civic education - human rights advocacy - political discourse Key Concepts historical awareness ethical responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What does freedom mean to you? - How can we keep the memory of oppression alive? A Different Perspective People may become complacent, forgetting past hardships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affliction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affliction/) [Alternatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alternatives/) [Bitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter/) [Bread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bread/) [Cherish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cherish/) [Cherish Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cherish-freedom-1431545/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Herbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/herbs/) [Herbs Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/herbs-slavery-3702954/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Remember Alternative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-alternative-3702955/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) ## Related quotes > [I cherish my own freedom dearly, but I care even more for your freedom. Too many have died since I went to prison. Too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/i-cherish-my-own-freedom-dearly-but-i-care-even-more-for-your-freedom-2/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [Sad will be the day when the American people forget their traditions and their history, and so longer remember that the country they love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-sherman/sad-will-be-the-day-when-the-american-people-forget-their-traditions/) [Roger Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-sherman/) > [Most of us cherish freedom, but when we actually get the opportunity to make our own way it can be terrifying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-butler-bowdon/most-of-us-cherish-freedom-but-when-we-actually-get-the-opportunity/) [Tom Butler-Bowdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-butler-bowdon/) > [Mehr als das Leben lieb' ich meine Freiheit. More than life, I cherish freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsa-schiaparelli/mehr-als-das-leben-lieb-ich-meine-freiheit-more-than-life-i-cherish/) [Elsa Schiaparelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsa-schiaparelli/) > [“I cherish my own freedom dearly, but I care even more for your freedom. From a response to an offer of conditional freedom, read by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/i-cherish-my-own-freedom-dearly-but-i-care-even-more-for-your-freedom-3/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [If people who cherish freedom, who know the importance of mutual respect and are aware of the imperative necessity to establish a constructive and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/if-people-who-cherish-freedom-who-know-the-importance-of-mutual/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [At times, we take freedom for granted. 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Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/virtue-a-fig-tis-in-ourselves-that-we-are-thus-or-thus-our-bodies-are/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Be Thou praised, my Lord, of our Sister Mother Earth, which sustains and hath us in rule, and produces divers fruits with coloured flowers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-of-assisi/be-thou-praised-my-lord-of-our-sister-mother-earth-which-sustains-and/) [Francis of Assisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-of-assisi/) > [Better the fragrant herb of wit and a little cream of affability than all the pretty cups in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-wyck-brooks/better-the-fragrant-herb-of-wit-and-a-little-cream-of-affability-than/) [Van Wyck Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-wyck-brooks/) ## More by Jonathan Sacks > [We from every religion feel comfortable in Britain because there is a host. The Church of England is a good host, it has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/we-from-every-religion-feel-comfortable-in-britain-because-there-is-a/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [Food prices are often kept artificially high. The result is that the Millennium Development Goals set out by the United Nations at the start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/food-prices-are-often-kept-artificially-high-the-result-is-that-the/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [In her religious role, the Queen is head of the Church of England, but in her civic role she cares for all her subjects,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/in-her-religious-role-the-queen-is-head-of-the-church-of-england-but/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [The market economy is deeply congruent with the values set out in the Hebrew Bible. 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Maybe I don't have what I had when I was younger. I'm not really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-norton/i-don-t-feel-insecure-about-any-of-this-work-anymore-maybe-i-don-t/) [Edward Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-norton/) > [Every man will have his own criterion in forming his judgment of others. I depend very much on the effect of affliction. I consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cecil/every-man-will-have-his-own-criterion-in-forming-his-judgment-of/) [Richard Cecil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cecil/) > [WHANGDEPOOTENAWAH, n. In the Ojibwa tongue, disaster; an unexpected affliction that strikes hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/whangdepootenawah-n-in-the-ojibwa-tongue-disaster-an-unexpected/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [There is nothing in afflictions which ought to disturb our joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/there-is-nothing-in-afflictions-which-ought-to-disturb-our-joy/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Come, then, affliction, if my Father wills, and be my frowning friend. A friend that frowns is better than a smiling enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/come-then-affliction-if-my-father-wills-and-be-my-frowning-friend-a/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Henceforth, I'll bear Affliction till it do cry out itself, 'Enough, enough, and die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/henceforth-i-ll-bear-affliction-till-it-do-cry-out-itself-enough/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [New materials are one of the great afflictions of contemporary art. Some artists confuse new materials with new ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/new-materials-are-one-of-the-great-afflictions-of-contemporary-art/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Aimee Parkison offers a distinct new voice to contemporary fiction. 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Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [God measures out affliction to our need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-john-chrysostom/god-measures-out-affliction-to-our-need/) [Saint John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-john-chrysostom/) > [Afflictions make the heart more deep, more experimental, more knowing and profound, and so, more able to hold, to contain, and beat more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/afflictions-make-the-heart-more-deep-more-experimental-more-knowing/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [Religion prescribes to every miserable man the means of bettering his condition; nay, it shows him that the bearing of his afflictions as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/religion-prescribes-to-every-miserable-man-the-means-of-bettering-his/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Short-term amnesia is not the worst affliction if you have an Irish flair for the sauce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/short-term-amnesia-is-not-the-worst-affliction-if-you-have-an-irish/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Revolution will free society of its afflictions, while science will free the individual of his.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/revolution-will-free-society-of-its-afflictions-while-science-will/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) [Browse all 598 Affliction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affliction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If we are to cherish freedom, and to guard it, we must remember what the alternative is: the bread of affliction and the bitter herbs of slavery.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jonathan Sacks" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/if-we-are-to-cherish-freedom-and-to-guard-it-we-must-remember-what/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Affliction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/if-we-are-to-cherish-freedom-and-to-guard-it-we-must-remember-what/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/jonathan-sacks-2788_affliction_if-we-are-to-cherish-freedom-and-to-guar_2837712.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/jonathan-sacks-2788_affliction_if-we-are-to-cherish-freedom-and-to-guar_2837712.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/jonathan-sacks-2788_affliction_if-we-are-to-cherish-freedom-and-to-guar_2837712.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If we are to cherish freedom, and to guard it, we must remember what the alternative is: the bread of…” — Jonathan Sacks", "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": "Jonathan Sacks", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If we are to cherish freedom,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/if-we-are-to-cherish-freedom-and-to-guard-it-we-must-remember-what/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/if-we-are-to-cherish-freedom-and-to-guard-it-we-must-remember-what/#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 } } ] } ```