John Philpot Curran

1750–1817 · Irish orator, lawyer & statesman

John Philpot Curran was one of Ireland’s great courtroom orators and a defender of the United Irishmen. In a Dublin speech on 10 July 1790 he declared that “the condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance” — the sentiment from which the modern aphorism descends. The neat English maxim “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty” was later put into wide circulation by American abolitionist Wendell Phillips in 1852; neither man was Thomas Jefferson.

Traced to source

1 quote we’ve traced

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance”

Disputed

Did they really say it?

Thought John Philpot Curran said something else?

Type a quote you think John Philpot Curran said — we’ll tell you what we know, or point you to the best sources.