You cannot institutionalize liberty. You can only institutionalize its encroachments. Institutional devices for the purpose of protecting lib­erty always seem to have a way of enslaving its resumed beneficiaries, sooner or later. Per­haps this is due to the fact that the core of liberty, and its hope, lies deep in the heart and soul of individual man something institutions can never have, something we cannot delegate to any institution.

All history suggests, in any event, that com­plete and universal liberty is a star beyond our reach. Liberty ebbs and flows, never being fully gained and never being fully lost.

And so perhaps liberty apparently is a goal to be pursued but never full...

You cannot institutionalize liberty. You can only institutionalize its encroachments. Institutional devices for the purpose of protecting lib­erty always seem to have a way of enslaving its resumed beneficiaries, sooner or later. Per­haps this is due to the fact that the core of liberty, and its hope, lies deep in the heart and soul of individual man something institutions can never have, something we cannot delegate to any institution.

All history suggests, in any event, that com­plete and universal liberty is a star beyond our reach. Liberty ebbs and flows, never being fully gained and never being fully lost.

And so perhaps liberty apparently is a goal to be pursued but never fully captured in its purity. This concept gives hope and purpose to live by, provided one does not dash his hopes on some impossible goal. If instead he sets as his star the mere furtherance of liberty rather than its full attainment for the entire world, he need never lack hope and pur­pose in life.