--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We would rather see London laid in ruins…" description: "\"We would rather see London laid in ruins and ashes than that it should be tamely and abjectly enslaved.\" — Winston Churchill" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/winston-churchill-95_ashes_we-would-rather-see-london-laid-in-ruins_216137.jpg" --- # We would rather see London laid in ruins and ashes than… ![“We would rather see London laid in ruins and ashes than that it should be tamely and abjectly enslaved.” quote by Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/winston-churchill-95_ashes_we-would-rather-see-london-laid-in-ruins_216137.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/winston-churchill-95_ashes_we-would-rather-see-london-laid-in-ruins_216137.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/winston-churchill-95_ashes_we-would-rather-see-london-laid-in-ruins_216137.jpg) > “We would rather see London laid in ruins and ashes than that it should be tamely and abjectly enslaved.” [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Churchill asserts that losing freedom is worse than physical destruction, valuing liberty over safety **In simple terms:** Freedom is more important than safety Key Takeaway Defend liberty at any cost Themes freedom resistance war politics Mood defiant determined Type political historical When to use this quote - wartime decisions - political activism - civil disobedience - defending rights Key Concepts totalitarianism civil liberty national sovereignty Questions to Reflect On - What freedoms are you willing to sacrifice? - How do societies balance security and liberty? A Different Perspective Freedom can be costly and may lead to conflict ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abjectly Enslaved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abjectly-enslaved-2219806/) [Ashes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashes/) [Enslaved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enslaved/) [Laid Ruins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laid-ruins-2219808/) [London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/london/) [Ruins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruins/) [Ruins Ashes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruins-ashes-2219807/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) ## Related quotes > [There must not be lacking in our leadership something of that spirit of the Austrian corporal who, when all had fallen into ruins around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/there-must-not-be-lacking-in-our-leadership-something-of-that-spirit/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There are men in the world who derive an exaltation from the proximity of disaster and ruin, as other from success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/there-are-men-in-the-world-who-derive-an-exaltation-from-the/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [He sees with amazement that our defeats are but the stepping stones to victory and that all his victories are stepping stones to ruin.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/he-sees-with-amazement-that-our-defeats-are-but-the-stepping-stones/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [America is not perfect. It took a bloody civil war to free over 4 million African Americans who lived enslaved. It took another hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/america-is-not-perfect-it-took-a-bloody-civil-war-to-free-over-4/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [To be enslaved to oneself is the heaviest of all servitudes.-](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/to-be-enslaved-to-oneself-is-the-heaviest-of-all-servitudes/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [How many demons and people are enslaved here? (Jericho) Define slavery. (Asmodeus) Kept against their will. (Jericho) Good definition. Counting me? (Asmodeus) Why not?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/how-many-demons-and-people-are-enslaved-here-jericho-define-slavery/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [None are so hopelessly enslaved, as those who falsely believe they are free. The truth has been kept from the depth of their minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/none-are-so-hopelessly-enslaved-as-those-who-falsely-believe-they-are/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“It is not for you to say - you Englishmen, who have conquered your freedom so long ago, that you have conveniently forgotten what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/it-is-not-for-you-to-say-you-englishmen-who-have-conquered-your/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) > [All spirits are enslaved which serve things evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/all-spirits-are-enslaved-which-serve-things-evil/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [“You hide it well, but I can see it, Lord Verniers. You hate us. 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So in between moments of despair and rage and grief, in between thoughts of Chaol…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/she-had-made-a-vow-a-vow-to-free-eyllwe-so-in-between-moments-of/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [Modern capitalism seeks to assure us that it operates according to the principles of free creativity, endless development and diversity. It glosses over its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadezhda-tolokonnikova/modern-capitalism-seeks-to-assure-us-that-it-operates-according-to/) [Nadezhda Tolokonnikova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadezhda-tolokonnikova/) > [We Muslims believe that the white race, which is guilty of having oppressed and exploited and enslaved our people here in America, should and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/we-muslims-believe-that-the-white-race-which-is-guilty-of-having/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) ## More by Winston Churchill > [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/this-is-no-time-for-ease-and-comfort-it-is-time-to-dare-and-endure/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [If I had been an Italian I am sure that I should have been whole-heartedly with you from the start to finish in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/if-i-had-been-an-italian-i-am-sure-that-i-should-have-been-whole/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Never, never, never give up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/never-never-never-give-up/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most times he will pick himself up and carry on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/man-will-occasionally-stumble-over-the-truth-but-most-times-he-will/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [The American Constitution declares 'All men are born equal.' The British Socialist Party add: 'All men must be kept equal'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-american-constitution-declares-all-men-are-born-equal-the-british/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [God alone knows how great it is. All I hope is that it is not too late. I am very much afraid that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/god-alone-knows-how-great-it-is-all-i-hope-is-that-it-is-not-too-late/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [When you're 20 you care what everyone thinks, when you're 40 you stop caring what everyone thinks, when you're 60 you realize no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/when-you-re-20-you-care-what-everyone-thinks-when-you-re-40-you-stop/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Writing a book is an adventure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/writing-a-book-is-an-adventure/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/all-men-make-mistakes-but-only-wise-men-learn-from-their-mistakes/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [People who are not prepared to do unpopular things and defy the clamor of the multitude are not fit to be ministers in time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/people-who-are-not-prepared-to-do-unpopular-things-and-defy-the/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [To meet Roosevelt with all his buoyant sparkle, his iridescence, was like opening a bottle of champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/to-meet-roosevelt-with-all-his-buoyant-sparkle-his-iridescence-was/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-am-always-ready-to-learn-although-i-do-not-always-like-being-taught/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There are plenty of good ideas, if only they can be backed with the power of action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/there-are-plenty-of-good-ideas-if-only-they-can-be-backed-with-the/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) [Explore all 1,366 Winston Churchill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) ## More Ashes quotes > [You can flush my ashes down the toilet, for all I care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-flush-my-ashes-down-the-toilet-for-all-i-care/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-that-is-gold-does-not-glitter-not-all-those-who-wander-are-lost/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't want to have a gravestone. I want to have all my friends burn me and then snort the ashes. I think that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/i-don-t-want-to-have-a-gravestone-i-want-to-have-all-my-friends-burn/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [He said that he will never let you cry,he will always be there for you no matter how hard the situation is,that he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhra/he-said-that-he-will-never-let-you-cry-he-will-always-be-there-for/) [Zhra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhra/) > [“The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-past-is-to-be-learned-from-but-not-lived-in-we-look-back-to-claim/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Much can they praise the trees so straight and high, The sailing pine,the cedar proud and tall, The vine-prop elm, the poplar never dry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/much-can-they-praise-the-trees-so-straight-and-high-the-sailing-pine/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [When any civilization is dust and ashes," he said, "art is all that's left over. Images, words, music. Imaginative structures. Meaning—human meaning, that is—is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/when-any-civilization-is-dust-and-ashes-he-said-art-is-all-that-s/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Man is a noble animal, splendid in ashes, and pompous in the grave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/man-is-a-noble-animal-splendid-in-ashes-and-pompous-in-the-grave/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [“Bury us, and mark our names above. Let us be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/bury-us-and-mark-our-names-above-let-us-be-free/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [There is nothing quite like an Ashes trip Down Under.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anderson/there-is-nothing-quite-like-an-ashes-trip-down-under/) [James Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anderson/) > [I think momentum is huge in sport, especially in a series like the Ashes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-stokes/i-think-momentum-is-huge-in-sport-especially-in-a-series-like-the/) [Ben Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-stokes/) > [Mark how fleeting and paltry is the estate of man-yesterday in embryo, tomorrow a mummy or ashes. So for the hairsbreadth of time assigned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/mark-how-fleeting-and-paltry-is-the-estate-of-man-yesterday-in-embryo/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“When you burn a bridge, you have to be prepared to live with some ashes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-coppernoll/when-you-burn-a-bridge-you-have-to-be-prepared-to-live-with-some-ashes/) [Chris Coppernoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-coppernoll/) > [I would rather be ashes than dust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/i-would-rather-be-ashes-than-dust/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) [Browse all 900 Ashes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We would rather see London laid in ruins and ashes than that it should be tamely and abjectly enslaved.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Winston Churchill" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/we-would-rather-see-london-laid-in-ruins-and-ashes-than-that-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ashes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/we-would-rather-see-london-laid-in-ruins-and-ashes-than-that-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/winston-churchill-95_ashes_we-would-rather-see-london-laid-in-ruins_216137.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/winston-churchill-95_ashes_we-would-rather-see-london-laid-in-ruins_216137.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/winston-churchill-95_ashes_we-would-rather-see-london-laid-in-ruins_216137.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We would rather see London laid in ruins and ashes than that it should be tamely and abjectly enslaved.” — Winston Churchill", "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": "Winston Churchill", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We would rather see London laid...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/we-would-rather-see-london-laid-in-ruins-and-ashes-than-that-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/we-would-rather-see-london-laid-in-ruins-and-ashes-than-that-it/#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 } } ] } ```