--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If ye love wealth better than liberty…" description: "\"If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/samuel-adams-3491_arms_if-ye-love-wealth-better-than-liberty-th_228218.jpg" --- # If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of… ![“If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were…” quote by Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/samuel-adams-3491_arms_if-ye-love-wealth-better-than-liberty-th_228218.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/samuel-adams-3491_arms_if-ye-love-wealth-better-than-liberty-th_228218.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/samuel-adams-3491_arms_if-ye-love-wealth-better-than-liberty-th_228218.jpg) > “If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.” [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prioritizing wealth over liberty leads to subjugation; those who accept oppression betray their fellow citizens. **In simple terms:** Choosing freedom over comfort; rejecting oppression. Key Takeaway Defend liberty, resist complacency. Themes liberty wealth oppression citizenship Mood determined serious Type political historical When to use this quote - voting - activism - community organizing Key Concepts political philosophy civil rights social contract Questions to Reflect On - What freedoms are you willing to defend? - How does comfort threaten liberty? A Different Perspective Freedom may require sacrifice and conflict. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arms/) [Better Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-liberty-2316061/) [Chains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chains/) [Contests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contests/) [Down and](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/down-and/) [Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Liberty Tranquility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty-tranquility-2316060/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Patriotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotic/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Posterity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/posterity/) [Servitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/servitude/) [Servitude Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/servitude-better-2316062/) [Tranquility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tranquility/) [Tranquility Servitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tranquility-servitude-2316063/) [Tyranny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyranny/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [“If you love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-beck/if-you-love-wealth-greater-than-liberty-the-tranquility-of-servitude/) [Glenn Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-beck/) > [Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/crouch-down-and-lick-the-hands-which-feed-you-may-your-chains-sit/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquillity of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-ye-love-wealth-better-than-liberty-the-tranquillity-of-servitude/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no problem anywhere on the earth which cannot be solved better under Liberty than under any other system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-longenecker/there-is-no-problem-anywhere-on-the-earth-which-cannot-be-solved/) [John Longenecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-longenecker/) > [Shame on the men who can court exemption from present trouble and expense at the price of their own posterity's liberty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/shame-on-the-men-who-can-court-exemption-from-present-trouble-and/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [Let us contemplate our forefathers, and posterity, and resolve to maintain the rights bequeathed to us from the former, for the sake of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/let-us-contemplate-our-forefathers-and-posterity-and-resolve-to/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [The will to domination is a ravenous beast. There are never enough warm bodies to satiate its monstrous hunger. Once alive, this beast grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/the-will-to-domination-is-a-ravenous-beast-there-are-never-enough/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [“Enslavement to God signifies liberation from all other forms of servitude, and although modern man may think that he is liberated, he is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-w-flood/enslavement-to-god-signifies-liberation-from-all-other-forms-of/) [Donald W. Flood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-w-flood/) > [God give you pardon from gratitude and other mild forms of servitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/god-give-you-pardon-from-gratitude-and-other-mild-forms-of-servitude/) [Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/) > [“Your realm is an insane place. In Volaria, no-one goes hungry, slaves are no use when they starve. Those freeborn too lazy or lacking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-ryan/your-realm-is-an-insane-place-in-volaria-no-one-goes-hungry-slaves/) [Anthony Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-ryan/) > [There will be in the next generation or so a pharmacological method of making people love their servitude and producing dictatorship without tears, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/there-will-be-in-the-next-generation-or-so-a-pharmacological-method/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [As political and economic freedom diminishes, sexual freedom tends correspondingly to increase. And the dictator will do well to encourage that freedom...it will help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/as-political-and-economic-freedom-diminishes-sexual-freedom-tends/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [ The heart becomes sick, as the body becomes sick, and its remedy is al-Tawbah (repentance) and protection \[from transgression\]. It becomes rusty as a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-qayyim-al-jawziyya/the-heart-becomes-sick-as-the-body-becomes-sick-and-its-remedy-is-al/) [Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-qayyim-al-jawziyya/) > [This is servitude, To serve th'unwise, or him who hath rebelled Against his worthier, as thine now serve thee, Thyself not free, but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/this-is-servitude-to-serve-th-unwise-or-him-who-hath-rebelled-against/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [My days – the blossom of my youth and the flower of my manhood – have been darkened by the dreariness of servitude. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-o-connell/my-days-the-blossom-of-my-youth-and-the-flower-of-my-manhood-have/) [Daniel O'Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-o-connell/) ## More by Samuel Adams > [Every one knows that the exercise of military power is forever dangerous to civil rights; and we have had recent instances of violences that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/every-one-knows-that-the-exercise-of-military-power-is-forever/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/crouch-down-and-lick-the-hands-which-feed-you-may-your-chains-sit/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [Our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/our-contest-is-not-only-whether-we-ourselves-shall-be-free-but/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [In the midst of these pleasing ideas we should be unfaithful to ourselves if we should ever lose sight of the danger to our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/in-the-midst-of-these-pleasing-ideas-we-should-be-unfaithful-to/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [It behooves every American to encourage home manufactures, that our oppressors may feel through their pockets the effects of their blind folly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/it-behooves-every-american-to-encourage-home-manufactures-that-our/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [All might be free if they valued freedom, and defended it as they should.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/all-might-be-free-if-they-valued-freedom-and-defended-it-as-they/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: first, a right to life; second, to liberty; third, to property; together with the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/among-the-natural-rights-of-the-colonists-are-these-first-a-right-to/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [Nil desperandum, -- Never Despair. That is a motto for you and me. All are not dead; and where there is a spark of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/nil-desperandum-never-despair-that-is-a-motto-for-you-and-me-all-are/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [It is not unfrequent to hear men declaim loudly upon liberty, who, if we may judge by the whole tenor of their actions, mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/it-is-not-unfrequent-to-hear-men-declaim-loudly-upon-liberty-who-if/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [Let us contemplate our forefathers, and posterity, and resolve to maintain the rights bequeathed to us from the former, for the sake of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/let-us-contemplate-our-forefathers-and-posterity-and-resolve-to/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [If we suffer tamely a lawless attack upon our liberty, we encourage it, and involve others in our doom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/if-we-suffer-tamely-a-lawless-attack-upon-our-liberty-we-encourage-it/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [I thank God that I have lived to see my country independent and free. She may long enjoy her independence and freedom if she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/i-thank-god-that-i-have-lived-to-see-my-country-independent-and-free/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [If our Trade be taxed, why not our Lands, or Produce in short, everything we possess? They tax us without having legal representation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/if-our-trade-be-taxed-why-not-our-lands-or-produce-in-short/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [One battle would do more towards a Declaration of Independence than a long chain of conclusive arguments in a provincial convention or the Continental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/one-battle-would-do-more-towards-a-declaration-of-independence-than-a/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [Give credit to whom credit due.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/give-credit-to-whom-credit-due/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) [Explore all 129 Samuel Adams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) ## 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": "If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Adams" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/if-ye-love-wealth-better-than-liberty-the-tranquility-of-servitude/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arms" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/if-ye-love-wealth-better-than-liberty-the-tranquility-of-servitude/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/samuel-adams-3491_arms_if-ye-love-wealth-better-than-liberty-th_228218.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/samuel-adams-3491_arms_if-ye-love-wealth-better-than-liberty-th_228218.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/samuel-adams-3491_arms_if-ye-love-wealth-better-than-liberty-th_228218.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of…” — Samuel Adams", "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": "Samuel Adams", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If ye love wealth better than...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/if-ye-love-wealth-better-than-liberty-the-tranquility-of-servitude/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/if-ye-love-wealth-better-than-liberty-the-tranquility-of-servitude/#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 } } ] } ```