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Who really said it

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

Written by John Stuart Mill 1806–1873 · English philosopher & political economist
Verified Free to reuse

From On Liberty (1859), Chapter I, “Introductory.” The wording is genuine and verbatim — the popular short form simply stops early; Mill’s sentence continues “…or impede their efforts to obtain it.”

Last verified 10 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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Verified quote & credit

“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” John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (1859), Chapter I. Public domain.

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In context

Evoking the world of John Stuart Mill — English philosopher, political economist & Member of Parliament. Theme: "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". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

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Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "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". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Provenance

The source

Work
On Liberty
Author
John Stuart Mill
First published
1859 (London: John W. Parker & Son)
Location
Chapter I, “Introductory”

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. Each is the proper guardian of his own health, whether bodily, or mental and spiritual.

The bold-faced clause above is where the popular quotation usually ends; Mill’s own sentence runs on.

Read On Liberty, Chapter I at Project Gutenberg

How we verified it

Public domain

On Liberty was first published in 1859, well before the 1931 cutoff, so the original English text is in the public domain in the United States. (Modern annotated editions may carry their own editorial copyright, but the sentence itself does not.)

Fact-check

A note on how it’s quoted

The attribution to Mill is correct — this is a rare case where the famous name really did write the famous line. The only thing worth flagging is how the sentence is usually trimmed.

John Stuart Mill Truncated, not fabricated

The widely shared version ends at “…deprive others of theirs,” dropping Mill’s closing clause “or impede their efforts to obtain it.” The primary text shows the full sentence.

Genuinely Mill, genuinely from On Liberty (1859), Chapter I — the popular form simply stops a clause early.

Context

Why it matters

This sentence is the emotional core of Mill’s “harm principle”: the idea that each person should be free to live by their own conception of the good, limited only by the equal freedom of others. It is one of the most-quoted formulations of liberal individualism in the English language.

Because the line is so quotable, it usually circulates in a shortened form that stops at “…deprive others of theirs.” That truncation is faithful to Mill’s meaning — but his actual sentence adds a further clause about not impeding others’ efforts, and continues into a discussion of each person as “the proper guardian of his own health.”

The only freedom which deserves the name…

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Freedom

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

On Liberty (full text)Project Gutenberg

The complete 1859 essay; the quotation is in Chapter I, “Introductory.”
On Liberty — sourced quotationsWikiquote

Cites the line to Chapter I and lists other passages from the essay.
On LibertyEconlib (Library of Economics and Liberty)

Another full-text edition of the essay for cross-checking the wording.
John Stuart MillWikipedia

Biography of the author and overview of On Liberty.

The author

About John Stuart Mill

John Stuart Mill

1806–1873 · English philosopher, political economist & Member of Parliament

John Stuart Mill was the leading English-language liberal philosopher of the nineteenth century and a founding figure of modern utilitarianism. His 1859 essay On Liberty argues that the only warrant for society to coerce an individual is to prevent harm to others — the “harm principle.” This line is the essay’s clearest statement of that ideal.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Primary source — Chicago

John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (London: John W. Parker & Son, 1859), Chapter I, “Introductory.”

MLA (9th ed.)

Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty. John W. Parker & Son, 1859.

APA (7th ed.)

Mill, J. S. (1859). On Liberty. John W. Parker & Son.

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘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’?” Last verified 10 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/the-only-freedom-which-deserves-the-name-is-that-of

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