Harvey O’Higgins? Brice Durbin? Richard L. Evans? Pat Benton? Samuel Johnson? Anonymous?
Question for Quote Investigator: The “freedom of speech” doctrine has always been controversial. People who voice unpopular or offensive opinions sometimes face dire repercussions such as severed friendships, lost jobs, public shaming, imprisonment, and even execution. The following statement presents an implicit rationale for this social backlash:
Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences.
Would you please explore the history of this statement?
Reply from Quote Investigator: The idea of freedom of speech can be traced back to ancient Athens, and the discussion of resultant penalties is also ancient. This article focuses on finding close matches to the target statement using similar phrasing and vocabulary.
In 1917 “The Century” magazine published an article titled “Freedom of Speech” by Harvey O’Higgins which contained the following passage. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1
What they demand, apparently, is the right to continue to circulate utterances that have been held inimical to the interests of the community. They demand not only freedom of speech, but freedom from the consequences of speech.
They cry not for liberty, but for immunity from the responsibilities of liberty. They expect to be not only free, but privileged, exempt, irresponsible, and protected by some holy right of sanctuary in a temple of established freedom which they shall be free to defile.
The phrasing of the statement differed from the one under examination. The statement in bold did not directly claim that the demand mentioned was unjustified. Yet, the context clearly indicated that O’Higgins believed that the demand was unreasonable. Hence, the statement in bold was a partial match.
The article above appeared in the December 1917 issue of “The Century”, but it was available to readers in November. A commentator in the “Fort Worth Star-Telegram” newspaper of Texas referred to the article and presented another partial match:2
Harvey J. O’Higgins has an illuminating article in the December number of the Century Magazine on the subject of freedom of speech, which makes clear how unjustifiable is the outcry of those “enemies within our gates” who desire not only freedom of speech but also freedom from the consequences of speech.
The essay from “The Century” was reprinted in other periodicals such as “The Buffalo Commercial” newspaper of New York. Hence, the partially matching statement achieved further distribution.3
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
In March 1953 “The American School Board Journal” printed an essay by Brice Durbin which contained another partial match:4
It has never been our opinion that the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech means freedom from consequence. When we touch a red-hot stove we get our fingers burned. If we choose to spin our own political theories, we should expect those who disagree to slug back even to the extent of recommending that we find some other place to indoctrinate.
In April 1953 “The Ithaca Journal” of New York reprinted the essay by Brice Durbin; hence, it achieved further distribution.5
In 1963 Richard L. Evans published the book “Faith in the Future”. Evans was a high-ranking member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A chapter titled “Speech—It Hurts or Heals” contained an exact match for the statement under examination:6
Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences. Speech is a form of action. It may hurt or heal. It is true or false, kind or cruel. It has its impact on others. And, said Samuel Johnson, “A man has no more right to say a rude thing to another than to act one; no more right to say a rude thing to another than to knock him down.”
The excerpt above provides inspiration for this brief side excursion. Was the thematically pertinent remark attributed to English scholar Samuel Johnson by Evans accurate? No, but Johnson did make a very similar comment according to his biographer. James Boswell’s celebrated work “The Life of Samuel Johnson” contained the following passage from the year 1780:7
“The late Mr. Fitzherbert told Mr. Langton that Johnson said to him, ‘Sir, a man has no more right to say an uncivil thing, than to act one; no more right to say a rude thing to another than to knock him down.'”
In December 1963 “The Herald Journal” of Logan, Utah published a piece discussing the book by Evans. Also, parts of the essay containing the quotation were reprinted.8
In 1969 Evans’s essay “Speech—It Hurts or Heals” was reprinted in the “Christian Observer” of Louisville, Kentucky:9
Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences. Speech is a form of action. It may hurt or heal. It is true or false, kind or cruel.
In 1977 excerpts from the essay by Richard L. Evans continued to circulate. “The Valley View News” of Kearns, Utah reprinted a section containing the quotation.10
In 2004 “The Southern Illinoisan” newspaper of Carbondale, Illinois published an article about the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The piece included a remark from local radio personality Pat Benton:11
Benton said the FCC isn’t restricting free speech for radio. “I feel free to say anything I want to say on the radio,” he said. He noted that freedom of speech doesn’t mean freedom from the consequences that some words produce.
In 2006 a letter published in the “Courier-Post” of Cherry Hill, New Jersey contained an instance:12
Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences. When we freely defame someone’s character, we are subject to a libel suit.
In 2014 a website about human resources management called “Canadian HR Reporter” posted an article that included an instance:13
Employees should be aware of this, and should also realize that freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences. As a result, you should think long and hard before posting anything that may be seen by your employer as having a negative impact upon them or the employment relationship. Otherwise, you may find yourself out of a job.
In conclusion, this quotation evolved over time. A partial match appeared in an essay by Harvey O’Higgins in 1917, and another partial match appeared in an essay by Brice Durbin in 1953. An exact match appeared in a book by Richard L. Evans in 1963.
Image Notes: Picture of an illuminated microphone from Kyle Bushnell at Unsplash. The image has been cropped and resized.
Acknowledgement: Great thanks to Felipe Contreras whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Contreras mentioned the 2014 citation.
- 1917 December, The Century, Volume 95, Number 2, Freedom of Speech by Harvey O’Higgins, Start Page 302, Quote Page 302 and 303, The Century Company, New York. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1917 November 28, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, As to Freedom of Speech, Quote Page 6, Column 2, Fort Worth, Texas. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 1917 December 10, The Buffalo Commercial, Freedom of Speech, Quote Page 9, Column 3, Buffalo, New York. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 1953 March, The American School Board Journal, Volume 126, Number 3, Freedom of Speech and Consequence by Brice Durbin, Quote Page 40, Column 3, The Bruce Publishing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1953 April 2, The Ithaca Journal, The Ideal Instructor: A Referee Who Encourages Opinions, Pro and Con by Brice Durbin, (Article “Freedom of Speech and Consequence” reprinted from the School Board Journal for March 1953), Quote Page 6, Column 3, Ithaca, New York. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 1963 Copyright, Faith in the Future by Richard L. Evans, Chapter: Speech—It Hurts or Heals, Quote Page 96, Harper & Row Publishers, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1793, The Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell Esq., Volume 3 of 3, Second Edition Revised and Augmented, Year: 1780, Quote Page 26, Printed for Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly, London. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1963 December 1, The Herald Journal, Speech – It Hurts or Heals – From Elder Evans’ New Book by Ray Nelson, Quote Page 2, Column 5, Logan, Utah. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 1969 January 22, Christian Observer, Volume 157, Number 4, Speech – It Hurts or Heals by Dr. Richard L. Evans, Quote Page 4, Column 2, Converse Company, Louisville, Kentucky. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1977 July 28, The Valley View News, Blessed Silence by Richard L. Evans, Quote Page 3, Column 1, Kearns, Utah. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 2004 March 24, The Southern Illinoisan, Local radio broadcaster concerned with FCC by Caleb Hale (The Southern), Start Page 1A, Quote Page 3A, Column 3, Carbondale, Illinois. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 2006 July 8, Courier-Post, Section: South Jersey Speaks Out, Letter title: Noncitizens, Letter from: Frank Solis (Woodbury), Quote Page 9A, Column 2, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Gannett Media Corp. (ProQuest) ↩︎
- Website: Canadian HR Reporter, Article title: Freedom of speech doesn’t mean freedom from consequences, Article author: Stuart Rudner (Canadian HR Law), Date on website: June 09, 2014, Website description: Information and news about human resources management from a Canadian perspective. (Accessed hrreporter.com on October 23, 2025) link ↩︎