Freedom is the sure possession of those alone who have the courage to defend it.

The saying links political liberty to civic virtue: freedom is not a passive inheritance but a condition maintained by active, sometimes risky, public defense. It implies that rights and self-government endure only when citizens are willing to bear costs—military service, political participation, or resistance to tyranny—to protect them. The emphasis on “sure possession” suggests that freedom’s security is proportional to a community’s resolve; without courage, liberty becomes contingent and easily lost. Although often attributed to Pericles, the sentiment broadly reflects classical Greek ideals about citizenship and the duties required to sustain a free polis.