From John Stuart Mill's 1859 treatise "On Liberty" (Chapter One):
In political speculations "the tyranny of the majority" is now generally included among the evils against which society requires to be on its guard. ...
Society ... practices a social tyranny more formidable than many kinds of political oppression, ... penetrating much more deeply into the details of life, and enslaving the soul itself. Protection, therefore, against the tyranny of the magistrate is not enough: there needs protection also against the tyranny of the prevailing opinion and feeling; against the tendency of society to impose, by other means than civil penalties, its own ideas and practices as rules of conduct on those who dissent from them. ...
The great writers to whom the world owes what religious liberty it possesses, have mostly asserted freedom of conscience as an indefeasible right, and have denied absolutely that a human being is accountable to others for his religious belief. Yet so natural to mankind is intolerance in whatever they really care about, that religious freedom has hardly anywhere been practically realized. ...
The object of this Essay is to assert one very simple principle, ... that the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any one of their number, is self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightly exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. ...
The only part of the conduct of any one, for which he is amenable to society, is that which concerns others. In the part which merely concerns himself, his independence is, of right, absolute. Over himself, over his own mind and body, the individual is sovereign. ...
The only freedom which deserves the name, is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it. ...
(Chapter Two:)
If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind. ...
But the peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth; if wrong, they lose, what is always as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error. ...
It is a piece of idle sentimentality that truth, merely as truth, has any inherent power denied to error of prevailing against the dungeon and stake. Men are not more zealous for truth than they often are for error ... The real advantage which truth has consists in this, that when an opinion is true, it may be extinguished once, twice, or many times, but in the course of ages there will generally be found persons to rediscover it. ...
There is never any fair and thorough discussion of heretical opinions. ... The greatest harm done is to those who are not heretics, and whose whole mental development is cramped and their reason cowed, by the fear of heresy. ...
No one can be a great thinker who does not recognize, that as a thinker it is his first duty to follow his intellect to whatever conclusions it may lead. ...
It can do truth no service to blink [i.e., overlook or ignore] the fact, known to all who have the most ordinary acquaintance with literary history, that a large portion of the noblest and most valuable moral teachings has been the work, not only of men who did not know, but of men who knew and rejected, the Christian faith. ...
Christian morality (so-called) has all the characters [i.e., 'characteristics'] of a reaction; ... Its ideal is negative rather than positive; passive rather than active; Innocence rather than Nobleness; Abstinince from Evil, rather than energetic Pursuit of Good. ... It holds out the hope of heaven and the threat of hell, as the appointed and appropriate motives to a virtuous life: in this falling far below the best of the ancients, and doing what lies in it to give human morality an essentially selfish character. ... It is essentially the doctrine of passive obedience; it inculcates submission to all authorities found established. ...
(Chapter Three:)
Customs are made for customary circumstances and customary characters. ...
The mind itself is bowed to the yoke: even in what people do for pleasure, conformity is the first thing thought of; they live in crowds: they exercise choice only among things commonly done: peculiarity of taste, eccentricity of conduct, are shunned equally with crimes: until by dint of not following their own nature they have no nature to follow: their human capacities are withered and starved: they become incapable of any strong wishes or native pleasures, and are generally without either opinions or feelings of home growth, or properly their own. ...
Whatever crushes individuality is despotism. ...
In this age, the mere example of nonconformity, the mere refusal to bend the knee to custom, is itself a service. ...
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The Apollo Belvedere, Youthful Horsemen from the Parthenon Frieze.
Youthful Male Beauty at its Finest
The Apollo Belvedere, Youthful Horsemen from the Parthenon Frieze.
The Non-Conformist's Bible
A collection of writings by T. J. White (who is the sole author and proprietor of this website), together with excerpts of writings by other authors and thinkers who have most profoundly shaped the course of his life and thinking.
Nothing in this site is intended to encourge the breaking of any laws. The author and proprietor also does not condone the intentional harming of any human being, and insists that the rights of all people must be respected. All those who violate those rights, and the laws of society, should be properly punished. Laws, however, can be changed, and there should be nothing wrong with advocating reasonable changes in society's laws.
The excerpts from other writers (and some photographs) included in this site may perhaps be under copyright. Their inclusion here is not for purposes of profit or gain, but rather are solely for the education and inspiration of others (and to make others more aware of their existence).
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information, for research and education purposes. Neither "The Non-Conformist's Bible" nor its author has any affiliation whatsoever with the originators of these articles, nor is "The Non-Conformist's Bible" or its author in any way endorsed or sponsored by the said originators.
The author of this site has diligently tried, where possible, to direct his readers to the actual other sites he has occasionally drawn from; indeed, he is indebted to their authors, and expresses his profoundest admiration and gratitude for them and their work.
A collection of writings by T. J. White (who is the sole author and proprietor of this website), together with excerpts of writings by other authors and thinkers who have most profoundly shaped the course of his life and thinking.
Nothing in this site is intended to encourge the breaking of any laws. The author and proprietor also does not condone the intentional harming of any human being, and insists that the rights of all people must be respected. All those who violate those rights, and the laws of society, should be properly punished. Laws, however, can be changed, and there should be nothing wrong with advocating reasonable changes in society's laws.
The excerpts from other writers (and some photographs) included in this site may perhaps be under copyright. Their inclusion here is not for purposes of profit or gain, but rather are solely for the education and inspiration of others (and to make others more aware of their existence).
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information, for research and education purposes. Neither "The Non-Conformist's Bible" nor its author has any affiliation whatsoever with the originators of these articles, nor is "The Non-Conformist's Bible" or its author in any way endorsed or sponsored by the said originators.
The author of this site has diligently tried, where possible, to direct his readers to the actual other sites he has occasionally drawn from; indeed, he is indebted to their authors, and expresses his profoundest admiration and gratitude for them and their work.