Liberty is the most precious possession of all mankind. Food and water are nothing; clothing and shelter are luxuries. He who is free stands with his head held high, even if hungry, naked and homeless. I dedicate my own life, whatever may be left of it, to the cause of liberty—liberty for all men, everywhere.

Victor Hugo

Here, the French novelist and author of Les Misérables (1862) eloquently expresses what we’d today call the deontological libertarian argument: freedom for freedom’s sake.

(via whakahekeheke)