The theme that this sentence suggests is one cannot stand still in the face of danger and survive.
This sentence is taken from Patrick Henry's speech "Give me liberty, or give me death!", which was pronounced during the Second Virginia Convention in 1775. In this speech,<u> Henry argues that America should raise a militia in order to fight for their independence from Great Britain and achieve freedom</u>. He tries to convince the convention that delivering Virginian troops so they can participate in the American Revolutionary War is far better than 'lying on one's back' and doing nothing.
