Logo - Feel The Words

Slave Quotes

On bondage, devotion, and being your own master.

These slave quotes often turn the word inward, describing emotional devotion, being a slave to one's own heart, or arguing that refusing to reason itself makes someone a slave, tying the theme to personal Identity.

You're not a slave to those test audiences.

Quotes by Adam McKay

As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy.

Abraham Lincoln

I've always been a slave to my heart.

Quotes by Willie Stargell

He who dares not reason, is a slave.

Quotes by William Drummond

Emotion Quotes

Be not a slave of words.

Quotes by Thomas Carlyle

When you're an actor, you're a slave to other people's visions.

Quotes by Sylvester Stallone

I'm not gonna be a slave. I'm a rock n' roller.

Quotes by Steven Adler

Michael Fassbender is phenomenal in '12 Years a Slave.'

Quotes by Stana Katic

As long as a word remains unspoken, you are its master; once you utter it, you are its slave.

Quotes by Solomon Ibn Gabirol

History Quotes

Who covets more is evermore a slave.

Quotes by Robert Herrick

An Enlightened Master is ideal only if your goal is to become a Benighted Slave.

Quotes by Robert Anton Wilson

I'm a total slave to a good story.

Quotes by Paul Sparks

If anything is life-changing, being the descendant of a slave is.

Quotes by Ntozake Shange

To be one's own master is to be the slave of self.

Quotes by Natalie Clifford Barney

Identity Quotes

A slave government is an oligarchy; and one, too, of the most arbitrary and criminal character.

Quotes by Lysander Spooner

I'm not a slave to anything anymore. And I never will be again.

Quotes by Leif Garrett

Lincoln emancipated nobody. The man freed not a single slave.

Quotes by L. Neil Smith

In Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Angola and Cameroon maize is a staple, yet the earliest mention of maize in west Africa comes from a Portuguese document that lists it as being loaded on to slave ships bound for Africa.

Quotes by Kwasi Kwarteng

Democracy means the opportunity to be everyone's slave.

Quotes by Karl Kraus

Oppression Quotes

Knowing constitutional law helps one at the opera. The trial in 'Billy Budd,' as example, invokes the fugitive slave clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Quotes by Karen DeCrow

Frequently Asked Questions

Do these slave quotes refer to historical slavery?
Yes, one quote reflects directly on how profoundly it shapes someone to know an ancestor once lived in slavery, tying the word to real History.
What do the more metaphorical slave quotes describe?
They use slave to describe emotional devotion, like being a slave to one's own heart, or intellectual failure, arguing that refusing to reason makes someone a slave.
Is there a quote about self-mastery and being a slave?
Yes, one paradoxical quote says being your own master actually means being a slave to yourself, questioning what real freedom looks like.
Do the quotes treat slavery lightly?
No, even the metaphorical uses carry weight, and the historical reference to an enslaved ancestor is treated with clear seriousness.
What overall theme connects these slave quotes?
They connect devotion, reason, and history under one word, showing how slave can describe both inner struggle and lived historical Identity.

One speaker reflects on how life-changing it is to descend from an enslaved ancestor, grounding the word in real History rather than metaphor. Another closes with a paradox: mastering yourself really means becoming a slave of your own Emotion.