Declaration Of Arbroath Quotes

We fight not for glory nor for wealth nor honours; but only and alone we fight for freedom, which no good man surrenders but with his life.

It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom--for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.   Declaration of Arbroath (1320)

This quote is not from one of my books, rather it is from my Scots ancestors. It holds as well today as when written. Think of the Declaration of Independence when you read it: This quote is from my ancestors, the Scots, not from one of my books. I believe it influence our Founding Fathers and wanted to share it with you here: It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom - for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.

Ye’ll ken the Declaration of Arbroath, will ye? Four hundred years since, it was our sires, our grandsires, who put their hands to these words: … for as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule.” He stopped to steady his voice, then went on. “It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom—for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.

The play was written between 1948 and 1951, in the aftermath of the German occupation of several countries in Europe. The ending of that and the subsequent launching of the United Nations showed that the concept of national freedom was likely to be fundamental in the post-war world. A dramatic treatment of the origins of that concept seemed to me to be well worth attempting. The material was to be found in my native country, for the Scottish Declaration of Independence commonly known as the Declaration of Arbroath, is generally accepted as the earliest document in which the concept of national freedom is carefully defined, and asserted with passionate conviction. It is an early landmark on the road to later documents such as the United States Declaration of Independence, the Atlantic Charter, and the Charter of the United Nations.

The words of the famous Declaration of Arbroath echo across the ages: ‘It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom – for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.