--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Know ye not who would be free themselves…" description: "\"Know ye not who would be free themselves must strike the blow? by their right arms the conquest must be wrought?\" — Lord Byron" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/294/lord-byron-356_arms_know-ye-not-who-would-be-free-themselves_785892.jpg" --- # Know ye not who would be free themselves must strike the… ![“Know ye not who would be free themselves must strike the blow? by their right arms the conquest must be wrought?” quote by Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/294/lord-byron-356_arms_know-ye-not-who-would-be-free-themselves_785892.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/294/lord-byron-356_arms_know-ye-not-who-would-be-free-themselves_785892.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/294/lord-byron-356_arms_know-ye-not-who-would-be-free-themselves_785892.jpg) > “Know ye not who would be free themselves must strike the blow? by their right arms the conquest must be wrought?” [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freedom requires taking decisive, often violent, action with one own power, not waiting for others. **In simple terms:** Freedom demands personal decisive action. Key Takeaway Act decisively for freedom. Themes freedom agency action revolution Mood dramatic poetic Type political philosophical When to use this quote - activism - self‑defense - social movements Key Concepts political theory personal empowerment Questions to Reflect On - What non‑violent paths to freedom exist? - How to balance personal agency with collective responsibility? A Different Perspective Violence may cause unintended harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arms/) [Arms Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arms-conquest-6046008/) [Blow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blow/) [Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conquest/) [Conquest Wrought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conquest-wrought-6046007/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Strike Blow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strike-blow-514881/) [Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strikes/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [An old warrior is never in haste to strike the blow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-metastasio/an-old-warrior-is-never-in-haste-to-strike-the-blow/) [Pietro Metastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-metastasio/) > [One of the great reasons for the popularity of strikes is that they give the suppressed self a sense of power. For once the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/one-of-the-great-reasons-for-the-popularity-of-strikes-is-that-they/) [Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/) > [Who would be free themselves must strike the blow. Better even to die free than to live slaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/who-would-be-free-themselves-must-strike-the-blow-better-even-to-die/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“preemptive strike n. A blow or punch delivered by military aircraft to a target who is suspected of being adverse to one's plot for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-starr-o-hara/preemptive-strike-n-a-blow-or-punch-delivered-by-military-aircraft-to/) [Leslie Starr O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-starr-o-hara/) > [“Who would be free themselves must strike the blow...I urge you to fly to arms and smite to death the power that would bury…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/who-would-be-free-themselves-must-strike-the-blow-i-urge-you-to-fly/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“We strike our blow, even as Pierre has said. We strike at the coppice that you so desire. We strike there because it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-merritt/we-strike-our-blow-even-as-pierre-has-said-we-strike-at-the-coppice/) [A. Merritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-merritt/) > [He who would be free must strike the first blow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/he-who-would-be-free-must-strike-the-first-blow/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [When you strike a blow, do not let your mind dally on it, not concerning yourself with whether or not it is a telling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yagyu-munenori/when-you-strike-a-blow-do-not-let-your-mind-dally-on-it-not/) [Yagyu Munenori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yagyu-munenori/) > [I was still more concerned (a preference which you may be far from resenting) to strike a blow for Epicurus, that great man whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian/i-was-still-more-concerned-a-preference-which-you-may-be-far-from/) [Lucian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian/) > [Thus, the same blow that strikes interest down will send wages up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/thus-the-same-blow-that-strikes-interest-down-will-send-wages-up/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [Men do not rest content with parrying the attacks of a superior, but often strike the first blow to prevent the attack being made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/men-do-not-rest-content-with-parrying-the-attacks-of-a-superior-but/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [But as in wailing there's nought availing, And Death unfailing will strike the blow, Then for that reason, and for a season, Let us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-philpot-curran/but-as-in-wailing-there-s-nought-availing-and-death-unfailing-will/) [John Philpot Curran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-philpot-curran/) > [What to do when adversity strikes? There is only one thing to do. Stand steady and see it through. Stay steadfast, constant, and true.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-baxter/what-to-do-when-adversity-strikes-there-is-only-one-thing-to-do-stand/) [David S. Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-baxter/) > [A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/a-prohibition-law-strikes-a-blow-at-the-very-principles-upon-which/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow! You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout Till you have drenched our teeples, drowned the cocks! You sulphurour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/blow-winds-and-crack-your-cheeks-rage-blow-you-cataracts-and/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More by Lord Byron > [A thousand years may scare form a state. An hour may lay it in ruins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/a-thousand-years-may-scare-form-a-state-an-hour-may-lay-it-in-ruins/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [To chase the glowing hours with flying feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/to-chase-the-glowing-hours-with-flying-feet/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Your thief looks Exactly like the rest, or rather better; 'Tis only at the bar, and in the dungeon, That wise men know your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/your-thief-looks-exactly-like-the-rest-or-rather-better-tis-only-at/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Age shakes Athena's tower, but spares gray Marathon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/age-shakes-athena-s-tower-but-spares-gray-marathon/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that's best of dark and bright Meet in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/she-walks-in-beauty-like-the-night-of-cloudless-climes-and-starry/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [“We of the craft are all crazy. Some are affected by gaiety, others by melancholy, but all are more or less touched.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/we-of-the-craft-are-all-crazy-some-are-affected-by-gaiety-others-by/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Men love in haste, but they detest at leisure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/men-love-in-haste-but-they-detest-at-leisure/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [And the commencement of atonement is the sense of its necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/and-the-commencement-of-atonement-is-the-sense-of-its-necessity/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Self-love for ever creeps out, like a snake, to sting anything which happens to stumble upon it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/self-love-for-ever-creeps-out-like-a-snake-to-sting-anything-which/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Lord of himself; that heritage of woe!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/lord-of-himself-that-heritage-of-woe/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Here's a sigh to those who love me,And a smile to those who hate;And, whatever sky's above me,Here's a heart for every fate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/here-s-a-sigh-to-those-who-love-me-and-a-smile-to-those-who-hate-and/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [For most men (till by losing rendered sager), Will back their own opinions by a wager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/for-most-men-till-by-losing-rendered-sager-will-back-their-own/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [It is by far the most elegant worship, hardly excepting the Greek mythology. What with incense, pictures, statues, altars, shrines, relics, and the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/it-is-by-far-the-most-elegant-worship-hardly-excepting-the-greek/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [I should like to know who has been carried off, except poor dear me - I have been more ravished myself than anybody since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/i-should-like-to-know-who-has-been-carried-off-except-poor-dear-me-i/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [O thou beautiful And unimaginable ether! and Ye multiplying masses of increased And still increasing lights! what are ye? what Is this blue wilderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/o-thou-beautiful-and-unimaginable-ether-and-ye-multiplying-masses-of/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) [Explore all 647 Lord Byron quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) ## More Arms quotes > [I genuinely did not expect more than half our nation to choose to walk away from our long-term allies into the arms of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-reade/i-genuinely-did-not-expect-more-than-half-our-nation-to-choose-to/) [Brian Reade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-reade/) > [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. So if somebody asks me what time it is, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-wear-a-watch-because-i-want-my-arms-to-weigh-the-same-so-if/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [Preaching to the choir actually arms the choir with arguments and elevates the choir's discourse. There's a reason the right does it and does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/preaching-to-the-choir-actually-arms-the-choir-with-arguments-and/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Are we fighting?" I asked Morelli. "No. Were discussing." "Are you sure?" "Am I yelling?" Morelli asked. "Is my face purple? Are the cords…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/are-we-fighting-i-asked-morelli-no-were-discussing-are-you-sure-am-i/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Comerado, this is no book,Who touches this, touches a man,(Is it night? Are we here alone?)It is I you hold, and who holds you,I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/comerado-this-is-no-book-who-touches-this-touches-a-man-is-it-night/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Even the stove and the refrigerator looked human, I mean good human - they seemed to have arms and voices and they said, hang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/even-the-stove-and-the-refrigerator-looked-human-i-mean-good-human/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I separated the joints, the arm joints, the leg joints, and had to do two boilings. I think I used four boxes of Soilex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dahmer/i-separated-the-joints-the-arm-joints-the-leg-joints-and-had-to-do/) [Jeffrey Dahmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dahmer/) > [More courage is required to forgive than is required to take up arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ramos-horta/more-courage-is-required-to-forgive-than-is-required-to-take-up-arms/) [Jose Ramos-Horta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ramos-horta/) > [It's been a long time since I asked anything of heaven, and my arms still haven't come down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-porchia/it-s-been-a-long-time-since-i-asked-anything-of-heaven-and-my-arms/) [Antonio Porchia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-porchia/) > [With those who are willing to join, let us cooperate to reduce the burden of arms, to strengthen the structure of peace, to lift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/with-those-who-are-willing-to-join-let-us-cooperate-to-reduce-the/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [How shall freedom be defended? By arms when it is attacked by arms, by truth when it is attacked by lies, by faith when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/how-shall-freedom-be-defended-by-arms-when-it-is-attacked-by-arms-by/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [You don't have to say it out loud. I already know why you like me.' 'You do, huh?' 'Yep.' He wrapped his arms around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/you-don-t-have-to-say-it-out-loud-i-already-know-why-you-like-me-you/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Another step had her backed up against the wall, and he braced his arms on both sides of her. "I'm beginning to look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-lindsey/another-step-had-her-backed-up-against-the-wall-and-he-braced-his/) [Johanna Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-lindsey/) [Browse all 4,470 Arms quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arms/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Know ye not who would be free themselves must strike the blow? by their right arms the conquest must be wrought?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lord Byron" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/know-ye-not-who-would-be-free-themselves-must-strike-the-blow-by/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arms" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/know-ye-not-who-would-be-free-themselves-must-strike-the-blow-by/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/294/lord-byron-356_arms_know-ye-not-who-would-be-free-themselves_785892.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/294/lord-byron-356_arms_know-ye-not-who-would-be-free-themselves_785892.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/294/lord-byron-356_arms_know-ye-not-who-would-be-free-themselves_785892.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Know ye not who would be free themselves must strike the blow? by their right arms the conquest must be…” — Lord Byron", "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": "Lord Byron", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Know ye not who would be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/know-ye-not-who-would-be-free-themselves-must-strike-the-blow-by/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/know-ye-not-who-would-be-free-themselves-must-strike-the-blow-by/#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 } } ] } ```