I do not believe that the Huguenot of 1685 was made the more free by accepting, against his conscience, the Revocation; nor do I believe that Luther would have been more free had he accepted the decrees of Rome and abandoned his protest.
Laski draws historical parallels to argue that accepting unjust decrees does not equate to increased freedom.
Share
More from Harold J. Laski
Each age makes some idol in its own image and sacrifices upon its altar the freedom of those who refuse it worship.
The essence of the persecuting position is always that the persecutor has hold of truth and that he would betray its service by allowing it to be questioned.
Each age finds that the incidence of freedom is significant at some special point, and there, once more, the lesson of freedom has to be learned.
To deny novelty or grievance a right of expression is a certain, if, indeed, an ultimate, validation of the truth they contain.
Other voices in this conversation
