--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Can nothing be done for freedom because…" description: "\"“Can nothing be done for freedom because the public conscience is inert?”\" — William H. Seward" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/william-h-seward-17225_conscience_can-nothing-be-done-for-freedom-because_3083389.jpg" --- # Can nothing be done for freedom because the public… ![“Can nothing be done for freedom because the public conscience is inert?” quote by William H. Seward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/william-h-seward-17225_conscience_can-nothing-be-done-for-freedom-because_3083389.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/william-h-seward-17225_conscience_can-nothing-be-done-for-freedom-because_3083389.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/william-h-seward-17225_conscience_can-nothing-be-done-for-freedom-because_3083389.jpg) > ““Can nothing be done for freedom because the public conscience is inert?”” [William H. Seward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-seward/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freedom cannot be achieved while the public remains apathetic; collective will is essential for change. **In simple terms:** Freedom needs active public support. Key Takeaway Mobilize public conscience for liberty. Themes freedom civic duty political action Mood concern determined Type political motivational When to use this quote - voting - protests - community organizing - public debates Key Concepts social contract collective responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How can leaders awaken civic engagement? - What mechanisms sustain public interest? A Different Perspective If the public stays inert, reforms stall despite leadership efforts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Conscience Inert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience-inert-5268854/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Freedom Public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-public-3325111/) [Public Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-conscience-3665328/) ## Related quotes > [Russians have a new freedom, but as long as they don't express that freedom on a public platform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-almond/russians-have-a-new-freedom-but-as-long-as-they-don-t-express-that/) [Marc Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-almond/) > [Having money has given me a certain freedom, but being in the public eye has taken away a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadie-frost/having-money-has-given-me-a-certain-freedom-but-being-in-the-public/) [Sadie Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadie-frost/) > [Freedom is a public library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/freedom-is-a-public-library/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [Parents own the children, and it is an issue of freedom and public health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/parents-own-the-children-and-it-is-an-issue-of-freedom-and-public/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [ “The right to be let alone is indeed the beginning of all freedom." \[ Public Utilities Commission v. Pollak , 343 U.S. 451, 467 (1952) (dissenting)\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-douglas/the-right-to-be-let-alone-is-indeed-the-beginning-of-all-freedom-2/) [William O. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [The writer's role is to menace the public's conscience. He must have a position, a point of view. He must see the arts as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/the-writer-s-role-is-to-menace-the-public-s-conscience-he-must-have-a/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [Bad men cannot make good citizens. It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains. A vitiated state of morals, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-henry/bad-men-cannot-make-good-citizens-it-is-when-a-people-forget-god-that/) [Patrick Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-henry/) > [I don't feel active, and that my public conscience is fully satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd-barrett/i-don-t-feel-active-and-that-my-public-conscience-is-fully-satisfied/) [Syd Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd-barrett/) > [When people generally are aware of a problem, it can be said to have entered the public consciousness. When people get on their hind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/when-people-generally-are-aware-of-a-problem-it-can-be-said-to-have/) [Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [I just want people to know that whatever decisions are made on any issue, I'll make them according to what I believe is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-varadkar/i-just-want-people-to-know-that-whatever-decisions-are-made-on-any/) [Leo Varadkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-varadkar/) > [The ACLU's various policies regarding religious freedom in public schools are a revealing collection of anti-religious bias.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-lagard-smith/the-aclu-s-various-policies-regarding-religious-freedom-in-public/) [F. LaGard Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-lagard-smith/) > [the heaviest restriction upon the freedom of public opinion is not the official censorship of the Press, but the unofficial censorship by a Press…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/the-heaviest-restriction-upon-the-freedom-of-public-opinion-is-not/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [To put it mildly, nothing can be turned and worn inside out with greater ease than one's notion of social justice, public conscience, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/to-put-it-mildly-nothing-can-be-turned-and-worn-inside-out-with/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [Bad men cannot make good citizens. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience are incompatible with freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-henry/bad-men-cannot-make-good-citizens-a-vitiated-state-of-morals-a/) [Patrick Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-henry/) > [The law is the public conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/the-law-is-the-public-conscience/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) ## More by William H. Seward > [The whole hope of human progress is suspended on the ever-growing influence of the Bible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-seward/the-whole-hope-of-human-progress-is-suspended-on-the-ever-growing/) [William H. Seward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-seward/) > [To reduce this claim of slavery to an absurdity, it is only necessary to add that there are only two states in which slaves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-seward/to-reduce-this-claim-of-slavery-to-an-absurdity-it-is-only-necessary/) [William H. Seward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-seward/) > [The proposition of an established classification of states as slave states and free states, as insisted on by some, and into northern and southern,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-seward/the-proposition-of-an-established-classification-of-states-as-slave/) [William H. Seward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-seward/) > [But there is a higher law than the Constitution, which regulates our authority over the domain, and devotes it to the same noble purposes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-seward/but-there-is-a-higher-law-than-the-constitution-which-regulates-our/) [William H. Seward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-seward/) > [I speak on due consideration because Britain, France, and Mexico, have abolished slavery, and all other European states are preparing to abolish it as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-seward/i-speak-on-due-consideration-because-britain-france-and-mexico-have/) [William H. Seward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-seward/) > [The United States are a political state, or organized society, whose end is government, for the security, welfare, and happiness of all who live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-seward/the-united-states-are-a-political-state-or-organized-society-whose/) [William H. Seward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-seward/) > [But the Constitution was made not only for southern and northern states, but for states neither northern nor southern, namely, the western states, their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-seward/but-the-constitution-was-made-not-only-for-southern-and-northern/) [William H. Seward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-seward/) > [No man will ever be President of the United States who spells 'negro' with two gs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-seward/no-man-will-ever-be-president-of-the-united-states-who-spells-negro/) [William H. Seward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-seward/) > [The color of the prisoner's skin, and the form of his features, are not impressed upon the spiritual immortal mind which works beneath. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-seward/the-color-of-the-prisoner-s-skin-and-the-form-of-his-features-are-not/) [William H. Seward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-seward/) > [Revolutions never go backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-seward/revolutions-never-go-backward/) [William H. Seward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-seward/) > [The constitution regulates our stewardship; the constitution devotes the domain to union, to justice, to defense, to welfare, and to liberty. But there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-seward/the-constitution-regulates-our-stewardship-the-constitution-devotes/) [William H. Seward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-seward/) > [The two systems slave and free-labor are incompatible. They have never permanently existed together in one country, and they never can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-seward/the-two-systems-slave-and-free-labor-are-incompatible-they-have-never/) [William H. Seward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-seward/) > [It is an irrepressible conflict between opposing and enduring forces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-seward/it-is-an-irrepressible-conflict-between-opposing-and-enduring-forces/) [William H. Seward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-seward/) > [But I deny that the Constitution recognizes property in man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-seward/but-i-deny-that-the-constitution-recognizes-property-in-man/) [William H. Seward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-seward/) > [A party with one idea; but that is a noble idea ... the idea of equality - the equality of all men before human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-seward/a-party-with-one-idea-but-that-is-a-noble-idea-the-idea-of-equality/) [William H. Seward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-seward/) [Explore all 37 William H. Seward quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-seward/) ## More Conscience quotes > [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/) [Rabelaise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabelaise/) > [Writing adds up to the conscience of our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/writing-adds-up-to-the-conscience-of-our-times/) [Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/) > [My conscience is really active. So I feel bad about spending excess amount of money on things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/my-conscience-is-really-active-so-i-feel-bad-about-spending-excess/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) > [Let us be thankful for health and competence, and, above all, for a quiet conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/let-us-be-thankful-for-health-and-competence-and-above-all-for-a/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [Making money doesn't oblige people to forfeit their honor or their conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-rothschild/making-money-doesn-t-oblige-people-to-forfeit-their-honor-or-their/) [Guy de Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-rothschild/) > [“If we cannot be happy and powerful and prey on others, we invent conscience and prey on ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-we-cannot-be-happy-and-powerful-and-prey-on-others-we-invent/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The God in whose hands are all our days and ways, did cast into my hand one day a book of Martin Luthers; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/the-god-in-whose-hands-are-all-our-days-and-ways-did-cast-into-my/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [My morals are important to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-parrish/my-morals-are-important-to-me/) [Hunter Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-parrish/) > [Being tolerant does not mean that I share another ones belief. But it does mean that I acknowledge another ones right to believe, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-frankl/being-tolerant-does-not-mean-that-i-share-another-ones-belief-but-it/) [Viktor Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-frankl/) > [Never can true courage dwell with them, Who, playing tricks with conscience, dare not look At their own vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/never-can-true-courage-dwell-with-them-who-playing-tricks-with/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [I've worked with people who are much further to the left than I am and much further to the right than I am. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/i-ve-worked-with-people-who-are-much-further-to-the-left-than-i-am/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [If all the world hated you and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved of you and absolved you from guilt, you would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/if-all-the-world-hated-you-and-believed-you-wicked-while-your-own/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [ \[D\]on't grow old. With age comes caution, which is another name for cowardice… Whatever else you do in life, don't cultivate a conscience. Without… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesketh-pearson/d-on-t-grow-old-with-age-comes-caution-which-is-another-name-for/) [Hesketh Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesketh-pearson/) [Browse all 3,490 Conscience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Can nothing be done for freedom because the public conscience is inert?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William H. 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