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I Consider The Government Of The United States As Interdicted By The Constitution From Intermeddling With Religious Institutions, Their Doctrines, Discipline, Or Exercises. This Results Not Only From The Provision That No Law Shall Be Made Respecting The Establishment Or Free Exercise Of Religion, But From That Also Which Reserves To The States The Powers Not Delegated To The United States. Certainly, No Power To Prescribe Any Religious Exercise Or To Assume Authority In Any Religious Discipline Has Been Delegated To The General Government. It Must Then Rest With The States.
-Thomas Jefferson
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I Consider The Government

Thomas Jefferson
I Consider The Government Of The United States As Interdicted By The Constitution From Intermeddling With Religious Institutions, Their Doctrines, Discipline, Or Exercises. This Results Not Only From The Provision That No Law Shall Be Made Respecting The Establishment Or Free Exercise Of Religion, But From That Also Which Reserves To The States The Powers Not Delegated To The United States. Certainly, No Power To Prescribe Any Religious Exercise Or To Assume Authority In Any Religious Discipline Has Been Delegated To The General Government. It Must Then Rest With The States.
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Religious
Exercise
Government
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Every Man, And Every Body Of Men On Earth, Possesses The Right Of Self-government. They Receive It With Their Being From The Hand Of Nature. Individuals Exercise It By Their Single Will; Collections Of Men By That Of Their Majority; For The Law Of The Majority Is The Natural Law Of Every Society Of Men.
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I Am For A Government Rigorously Frugal & Simple, Applying All The Possible Savings Of The Public Revenue To The Discharge Of The National Debt; And Not For A Multiplication Of Officers & Salaries Merely To Make Partisans, & For Increasing, By Every Device, The Public Debt, On The Principle Of Its Being A Public Blessing.
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A Little Rebellion Now And Then Is A Good Thing. Rebellion To Tyrants Is Obedience To God. In Order To Flourish, The Tree Of Liberty Needs The Blood Of Patriots And Tyrants.
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The Natural Progress Of Things Is For Liberty To Yield And Government To Gain Ground.
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When, In The Course Of Human Events, It Becomes Necessary For One People To Dissolve The Political Bands Which Have Connected Them With Another, And To Assume Among The Powers Of The Earth The Separate And Equal Station To Which The Laws Of Nature And Of Nature's God Entitle Them, A Decent Respect To The Opinions Of Mankind Requires That They Should Declare The Causes Which Impel Them To The Separation.
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But Of All The Views Of This Law [universal Education] None Is More Important, None More Legitimate, Than That Of Rendering The People The Safe, As They Are The Ultimate, Guardians Of Their Own Liberty.
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The General Desire Of Men To Live By Their Heads Rather Than Their Hands, And The Strong Allurements Of Great Cities To Those Who Have Any Turn For Dissipation, Threaten To Make Them Here, As In Europe, The Sinks Of Voluntary Misery.
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An Association Of Men Who Will Not Quarrel With One Another Is A Thing Which Has Never Yet Existed, From The Greatest Confederacy Of Nations Down To A Town Meeting Or A Vestry.
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In The Spring He Will Attend Your Botanical Course. His Natural Turn Is Very Strongly To The Objects Of Your Two Courses Of Lectures, And I Hope You Will Have Reason To Be Contended With His Capacity & Character.
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We Could In The United States Make As Great A Variety Of Wines As Are Made In Europe, Not Exactly Of The Same Kinds, But Doubtless As Good.
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The Main Objects Of All Science, The Freedom And Happiness Of Man. . . . [are] The Sole Objects Of All Legitimate Government. A Plaque With This Quotation, With The First Phrase Omitted, Is In The Stairwell Of The Pedestal Of The Statue Of Liberty.
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Give Up Money, Give Up Fame, Give Up Science, Give The Earth Itself And All It Contains, Rather Than Do An Immoral Act.
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I Do Not Agree That An Age Of Pleasure Is No Compensation For A Moment Of Pain.
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Nothing Can Now Be Believed Which Is Seen In A Newspaper. Truth Itself Becomes Suspicious By Being Put Into That Polluted Vehicle. The Real Extent Of This State Of Misinformation Is Known Only To Those Who Are In Situations To Confront Facts Within Their Knowledge With The Lies Of The Day.
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[the People] Are The Ultimate, Guardians Of Their Own Liberty.
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No Freeman Shall Be Debarred The Use Of Arms.
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The Man Who Loves His Country On Its Own Account, And Not Merely For Its Trappings Of Interest Or Power, Can Never Be Divorced For It, Can Never Refuse To Come Forward When He Finds That She Is Engaged In Dangers Which He Has The Means Of Warding Off.
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I Know Of No Safe Depository Of The Ultimate Powers Of The Society But The People Themselves; And If We Think Them Not Enlightened Enough To Exercise Their Control With A Wholesome Discretion, The Remedy Is Not To Take It From Them But To Inform Their Discretion.
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I Shall See With Sincere Satisfaction The Progress Of Those Sentiments Which Tend To Restore To Man All His Natural Rights, Convinced He Has No Natural Right In Opposition To His Social Duties.
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It Is An Axiom In My Mind That Our Liberty Can Never Be Safe But In The Hands Of The People Themselves, And That Too Of The People With A Certain Degree Of Instruction. This It Is The Business Of The State To Effect, And On A General Plan.
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The Information Of The People At Large Can Alone Make Them The Safe As They Are The Sole Depositary Of Our Political And Religious Freedom.
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The Tender Breasts Of Ladies Were Not Formed For Political Convulsion.
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Almighty God Hath Created The Mind Free. All Attempts To Influence It By Temporal Punishments Or Burthens...are A Departure From The Plan Of The Holy Author Of Our Religion...no Man Shall Be Compelled To Frequent Or Support Religious Worship Or Ministry Or Shall Otherwise Suffer On Account Of His Religious Opinions Or Belief, But All Men Shall Be Free To Profess And By Argument To Maintain, Their Opinions In Matters Of Religion. I Know But One Code Of Morality For Men Whether Acting Singly Or Collectively.
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Every Day Is Lost In Which We Do Not Learn Something Useful. Man Has No Nobler Or More Valuable Possession Than Time.
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The Right Of Self-government Does Not Comprehend The Government Of Others.
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I Prefer To Be Remembered For What I Have Done For Others, Not What Others Have Done For Me.
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That One Hundred And Fifty Lawyers Should Do Business Together Ought Not To Be Expected.
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Those Who Labour In The Earth Are The Chosen People Of God, If Ever He Had A Chosen, People, Whose Breasts He Has Made His Peculiar Deposit For Substantial And Genuine Virtue.
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With Your Talents And Industry, With Science, And That Steadfast Honesty Which Eternally Pursues Right, Regardless Of Consequences, You May Promise Yourself Every Thing-but Health, Without Which There Is No Happiness. An Attention To Health Then Should Take Place Of Evey Other Object. The Time Necessary To Secure This By Active Exercises, Should Be Devoted To It In Preference To Every Other Pursuit.
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Our Duty To Ourselves, To Posterity, And To Mankind, Call On Us By Every Motive Which Is Sacred Or Honorable, To Watch Over The Safety Of Our Beloved Country During The Troubles Which Agitate And Convulse The Residue Of The World, And To Sacrifice To That All Personal And Local Considerations.
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Letters Are Not The First, But The Last Step In The Progression From Barbarism To Civilisation.
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A Society That Will Trade A Little Liberty For A Little Order Will Lose Both, And Deserve Neither.
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If Ignorance Is Bliss, Why Aren't More People Happy?
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He Has Waged Cruel War Against Human Nature Itself, Violating It’s Most Sacred Rights Of Life & Liberty In The Persons Of A Distant People Who Never Offended Him, Captivating & Carrying Them Into Slavery In Another Hemisphere, Or To Incur Miserable Death In Their Transportation Thither. This Piratical Warfare, The Opprobrium Of Infidel Powers, Is The Warfare Of The Christian King Of Great Britain. Determined To Keep Open A Market Where Men Should Be Bought & Sold, He Has Prostituted His Negative For Suppressing Every Legislative Attempt To Prohibit Or To Restrain This Execrable Commerce...
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We Do, Then, Most Solemnly Before God And The World Declare That Regardless Of Every Consequence, At The Risk Of Every Distress, The Arms We Have Been Compelled To Assume We Will Use With Perseverance, Exerting To Their Utmost Energies All Those Powers Which Our Creator Hath Given Us To Preserve That Liberty Which He Committed To Us In Sacred Deposit And To Protect From Every Hostile Hand Our Lives And Our Properties.
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Never Trust A Man Who Won't Accept That There Is More Than One Way To Spell A Word Paraphrased
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The Most Effective Way To Find Ourselves Enslaved Will Not Be Done Openly. If Weakened We Will Sink Gradually. I Ask, Who Are The Militia? They Consist Of The Whole People, .... Except A Few Public Officers.
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That Peace, Safety, And Concord May Be The Portion Of Our Native Land, And Be Long Enjoyed By Our Fellow-citizens, Is The Most Ardent Wish Of My Heart, And If I Can Be Instrumental In Procuring Or Preserving Them, I Shall Think I Have Not Lived In Vain.
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My Opinion Is That There Would Never Have Been An Infidel, If There Had Never Been A Priest. The Artificial Structures They Have Built On The Purest Of All Moral Systems, For The Purpose Of Deriving From It Pence And Power, Revolts Those Who Think For Themselves, And Who Read In That System Only What Is Really There.
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All, Too, Will Bear In Mind This Sacred Principle, That Though The Will Of The Majority Is In All Cases To Prevail, That Will To Be Rightful Must Be Reasonable; That The Minority Possess Their Equal Rights, Which Equal Law Must Protect, And To Violate Would Be Oppression.
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I Feel... An Ardent Desire To See Knowledge So Disseminated Through The Mass Of Mankind That It May, At Length, Reach Even The Extremes Of Society: Beggars And Kings.
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Only Aim To Do Your Duty, And Mankind Will Give You Credit Where You Fail.
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Scenes Are Now To Take Place As Will Open The Eyes Of Credulity And Of Insanity Itself, To The Dangers Of A Paper Medium Abandoned To The Discretion Of Avarice And Of Swindlers.
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Let The Eye Of Vigilance Never Be Closed.
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It Should Be Remembered, As An Axiom Of Eternal Truth In Politics, That Whatever Power In Any Government Is Independent, Is Absolute Also.
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The Principles On Which We Engaged, Of Which The Charter Of Our Independence Is The Record, Were Sanctioned By The Laws Of Our Being, And We But Obeyed Them In Pursuing Undeviatingly The Course They Called For. It Issued Finally In That Inestimable State Of Freedom Which Alone Can Ensure To Man The Enjoyment Of His Equal Rights.
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The Love Of Justice And The Love Of Country Plead Equally The Cause Of These People, And It Is A Moral Reproach To Us That They Should Have Pleaded It So Long In Vain.
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The Evils Of War Are Great In Their Endurance, And Have A Long Reckoning For Ages To Come.
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No Government Should Be Without Critics. If Its Intentions Are Good Then It Has Nothing To Fear From Criticism.
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It Is Between Fifty And Sixty Years Since I Read It (i.e. The Book Of Revelations), And I Then Considered It Merely The Ravings Of A Maniac, No More Worthy Nor Capable Of Explanation Than The Incoherence Of Our Own Nightly Dreams.
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May It Be To The World... To Assume The Blessings And Security Of Self-government.
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The Sun Has Not Caught Me In Bed In Fifty Years.
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If By Religion We Are To Understand Sectarian Dogmas, In Which No Two Of Them Agree, Then Your Exclamation On That Hypothesis Is Just, "that This Would Be The Best Of Worlds If There Were No Religion In It.
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A Truth Now And Then Projecting Into The Ocean Of Newspaper Lies Serves Like Headlands To Correct Our Course. Indeed, My Scepticism As To Everything I See In A Newspaper Makes Me Indifferent Whether I Ever See One.
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War Has Been Avoided From A Due Sense Of The Miseries, And The Demoralization It Produces, And Of The Superior Blessings Of A State Of Peace And Friendship With All Mankind.
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A Strict Observance Of The Written Laws Is Doubtless One Of The Highest Virtues Of A Good Citizen, But It Is Not The Highest. The Laws Of Necessity, Of Self-preservation, Of Saving Our Country When In Danger, Are Of Higher Obligation. To Lose Our Country By A Scrupulous Adherence To Written Law Would Be To Lose The Law Itself, With Life, Liberty, Property And All Those Who Are Enjoying Them With Us; Thus Absurdly Sacrificing The End To The Means.
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No Man Shall Be Compelled To Frequent Or Support Any Religious Worship, Place, Or Ministry Whatsoever.
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Difference Of Opinion Leads To Inquiry, And Inquiry To The Truth.
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The Government You Elect Is The Government You Deserve.
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It Is A [disputed] Question, Whether The Circulation Of Paper, Rather Than Of Specie [gold And Silver Coin], Is A Good Or An Evil I Believe It To Be One Of Those Cases Where Mercantile Clamor Will Bear Down Reason, Until It Is Corrected By Ruin.
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Nature Intended Me For The Tranquil Pursuits Of Science By Rendering Them My Supreme Delight.
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My Heart Trembles When I Reflect That God Is Just
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That The Several States Who Formed That Instrument, Being Sovereign And Independent, Have The Unquestionable Right To Judge Of Its Infraction; And That A Nullification, By Those Sovereignties, Of All Unauthorized Acts Done Under Colour Of That Instrument, Is The Rightful Remedy.
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It Should Be Our Endeavor To Cultivate The Peace And Friendship Of Every Nation . . . . Our Interest Will Be To Throw Open The Doors Of Commerce, And To Knock Off All Its Shackles, Giving Perfect Freedom To All Persons For The Vent To Whatever They May Choose To Bring Into Our Ports, And Asking The Same In Theirs.
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I Am A Real Christian, That Is To Say, A Cisciple Of The Doctrines Of Jesus. I Have Little Doubt That Our Whole Country Will Soon Be Rallied To The Unity Of Our Creator.
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Country
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We Sometimes From Dreams Pick Up Some Hint Worth Improving By Reflection.
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Honesty, Disinterestedness And Good Nature Are Indispensable To Procure The Esteem And Confidence Of Those With Whom We Live, And On Whose Esteem Our Happiness Depends.
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Trial By Jury Is Part Of That Bright Constellation Which Has Gone Before Us And Guided Our Steps Through An Age Of Revolution And Reformation.
Age
Gone
Trials
And For The Support Of This Declaration, With A Firm Reliance On The Protection Of Divine Providence, We Mutually Pledge To Each Other Our Lives, Our Fortunes And Our Sacred Honor.
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In America, No Other Distinction Between Man And Man Had Ever Been Known But That Of Persons In Office Exercising Powers By Authority Of The Laws, And Private Individuals. Among These Last, The Poorest Laborer Stood On Equal Ground With The Wealthiest Millionaire, And Generally On A More Favored One Whenever Their Rights Seem To Jar.
Exercise
Men
Rights
One Single Object . . . [will Merit] The Endless Gratitude Of The Society: That Of Restraining The Judges From Usurping Legislation.
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Judging
Politics
The Moral Sense, Or Conscience, Is As Much Part Of A Man As His Leg Or Arm. It Is Given To All In A Stronger Or Weaker Degree.. It May Be Strengthened By Exercise.
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The Flames Kindled On The Fourth Of July, 1776, Have Spread Over Too Much Of The Globe To Be Extinguished By The Feeble Engines Of Despotism; On The Contrary, They Will Consume These Engines And All Who Work Them.
July
Flames
Too Much
I Hope We Shall Prove How Much Happier For Man The Quaker Policy Is, And That The Life Of The Feeder Is Better Than That Of The Fighter; And It Is Some Consolation That The Desolation By These Maniacs Of One Part Of The Earth Is The Means Of Improving It In Other Parts. Let The Latter Be Our Office, And Let Us Milk The Cow, While The Russian Holds Her By The Horns, And The Turk By The Tail.
Mean
Men
Office
I Am Sure The Man Who Powders Most, Perfumes Most, Embroiders Most, And Talks Most Nonsense, Is Most Admired. Though To Be Candid, There Are Some Who Have Too Much Good Sense To Esteem Such Monkey-like Animals As These, In Whose Formation, As The Saying Is, The Tailors And Barbers Go Halves With God Almighty.
Animal
Men
Half
Who Will Govern The Governors? There Is Only One Force In The Nation That Can Be Depended Upon To Keep The Government Pure And The Governors Honest, And That Is The People Themselves. They Alone, If Well Informed, Are Capable Of Preventing The Corruption Of Power, And Of Restoring The Nation To Its Rightful Course If It Should Go Astray. They Alone Are The Safest Depository Of The Ultimate Powers Of Government.
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Honest
The Constitutions Of Most Of Our States Assert That All Power Is Inherent In The People; That... It Is Their Right And Duty To Be At All Times Armed.
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Strong Arms
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I Abhor War And View It As The Greatest Scourge Of Mankind.
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Time Indeed Changes Manners And Notions, And So Far We Must Expect Institutions To Bend To Them. But Time Produces Also Corruption Of Principles, And Against This It Is The Duty Of Good Citizens To Be Ever On The Watch, And If The Gangrene Is To Prevail At Last, Let The Day Be Kept Off As Long As Possible.
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The Variety Of Opinions Leads To Questions. Questions Lead To Truth.
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I Believe That Justice Is Instinct And Innate, That The Moral Sense Is As Much A Part Of Our Constitution As That Of Feeling, Seeing, Or Hearing; As A Wise Creator Must Have Seen To Be Necessary In An Animal Destined To Live In Society.
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Believe
Animal
Peace Is That Brief Glorious Moment In History When Everybody Stands Around Reloading.
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Reloading
Glorious
The Division Into Whig And Tory Is Founded In The Nature Of Men; The Weakly And Nerveless, The Rich And The Corrupt, Seeing More Safety And Accessibility In A Strong Executive; The Healthy, Firm, And Virtuous, Feeling Confidence In Their Physical And Moral Resources, And Willing To Part With Only So Much Power As Is Necessary For Their Good Government; And, Therefore, To Retain The Rest In The Hands Of The Many, The Division Will Substantially Be Into Whig And Tory.
Strong
Men
Hands
I Have Given Up Newspapers In Exchange For Tacitus And Thucydides, For Newton And Euclid; And I Find Myself Much The Happier.
Newton
Euclid
Newspapers
My Religious Reading Has Long Been Confined To The Moral Branch Of Religion, Which Is The Same In All Religions; While In That Branch Which Consists Of Dogmas, All Differ[.
Religious
Reading
Long
A Lottery Is A Salutary Instrument And A Tax... Laid On The Willing Only, That Is To Say, On Those Who Can Risk The Price Of A Ticket Without Sensible Injury, For The Possibility Of A Higher Prize.
Gambling
Risk
Tickets
From Breakfast, Or Noon At The Latest, To Dinner, I Am Mostly On Horseback, Attending To My Farm Or Other Concerns, Which I Find Healthful To My Body, Mind, And Affairs.
Agriculture
Mind
Noon
Do Not Write Me Studied Letters But Ramble As You Please.
Writing
Letters
Please
Free Men Do Not Ask Permission To Bear Arms
Men
Arms
Libertarian
He Who Made Us Would Have Been A Pitiful Bungler, If He Had Made The Rules Of Our Moral Conduct A Matter Of Science. For One Man Of Science, There Are Thousands Who Are Not. What Would Have Become Of Them? Man Was Destined For Society. His Morality, Therefore, Was To Be Formed To This Object. He Was Endowed With A Sense Of Right And Wrong, Merely Relative To This.
Men
Religion
Matter
Errors Of Opinion May Be Tolerated Where Reason Is Left Free To Combat It.
Education
Patriotic
Free Opinion
For The Power Given To Congress By The Constitution Does Not Extend To The Internal Regulation Of The Commerce Of A State (that Is To Say, Of The Commerce Between Citizen And Citizen,) Which Remain Exclusively With Its Own Legislature; But To Its External Commerce Only, That Is To Say, Its Commerce With Another State, Or With Foreign Nations, Or With The Indian Tribes.
Regulation
Tribes
Doe
Whensoever The General Government Assumes Undelegated Powers, Its Acts Are Unauthoritative, Void, And Of No Force.
Government
Liberty
Void
Say Nothing Of My Religion. It Is Known To God And Myself Alone. Its Evidence Before The World Is To Be Sought In My Life: If It Has Been Honest And Dutiful To Society The Religion Which Has Regulated It Cannot Be A Bad One.
Religion
World
Honest
I Am A Sect By Myself, As Far As I Know.
Knows
Sects
When A Uniform Exercise Of Kindness To Prisoners On Our Part Has Been Returned By As Uniform Severity On The Part Of Our Enemies,you Must Excuse Me For Saying It Is High Time, By Other Lessons, To Teach Respect To The Dictates Of Humanity; In Such A Case, Retaliation Becomes An Act Of Benevolence.
Kindness
Exercise
Humanity
Ours Are The Only Farmers Who Can Read Homer
Educational
Farmers
There Is Nothing More Unequal Than The Equal Treatment Of Unequal People.
Education
Equal Treatment
People
Truth Is The Proper And Sufficient Antagonist To Error, And Has Nothing To Fear From The Conflict, Unless, By Human Interposition, Disarmed Of Her Natural Weapons, Free Argument And Debate; Errors Ceasing To Be Dangerous When It Is Permitted Freely To Contradict Them.
Errors
Politics
Weapons
I Think By Far The Most Important Bill In Our Whole Code Is That For The Diffusion Of Knowlege Among The People. No Other Sure Foundation Can Be Devised For The Preservation Of Freedom, And Happiness.
Educational
Knowledge
Thinking
No Man Has Done Everything He Can Who Has Done Only His Best.
Men
Done
Politics
The Constitutional Freedom Of Religion Is The Most Inalienable And Sacred Of All Human Rights
Freedom
Rights
Political
Knowing That Religion Does Not Furnish Grosser Bigots Than Law, I Expect Little From Old Judges.
Law
Knowing
Judging
Take More Pleasure In Giving What Is Best To Another Than In Having It For Yourself, And Then All The World Will Love You.
Father
Love You
Giving
My Principle Is To Do Whatever Is Right, And Leave Consequences To Him Who Has The Disposal Of Them.
Principles
Consequence
I Am Satisfied, And Sufficiently Occupied With The Things Which Are, Without Tormenting Or Troubling Myself About Those Which May Indeed Be, But Of Which I Have No Evidence.
Religion
May
Evidence
The Constitution Has Erected No Such Single Tribunal, Knowing That To Whatever Hands Confided, With The Corruption's Of Time And Party, Its Members Would Become Despots.
Party
Hands
Knowing
In A Virtuous And Free State, No Rewards Can Be So Pleasing To Sensible Minds, As Those Which Include The Approbation Of Our Fellow Citizens. My Great Pain Is, Lest My Poor Endeavours Should Fall Short Of The Kind Expectations Of My Country.
Country
Pain
Fall
It Is An Essential Attribute Of The Jurisdiction Of Every Country To Preserve Peace, To Punish Acts In Breach Of It, And To Restore Property Taken By Force Within Its Limits.
Country
Taken
Limits
The Most Fortunate Of Us, In Our Journey Through Life, Frequently Meet With Calamities And Misfortunes Which May Greatly Afflict Us; And, To Fortify Our Minds Against The Attacks Of These Calamities And Misfortunes, Should Be One Of The Principal Studies And Endeavors Of Our Lives.
Philosophy
Inspiration
Journey
[t]he People Seem To Have Deposited The Monarchical And Taken Up The Republican Government With As Much Ease As Would Have Attended Their Throwing Off An Old And Putting On A New Suit Of Clothes.
Taken
Government
Clothes
I Long To Be In The Midst Of The Children, And Have More Pleasure In Their Little Follies Than In The Wisdom Of The Wise.
Wise
Wisdom
Children
The Attempt Of Lavoisier To Reform Chemical Nomenclature Is Premature. One Single Experiment May Destroy The Whole Filiation Of His Terms; And His String Of Sulphates, Sulphites, And Sulphures, May Have Served No End Than To Have Retarded The Progress Of Science By A Jargon, From The Confusion Of Which Time Will Be Requisite To Extricate Us.
Science
Confusion
Confusing
If, In My Retirement To The Humble Station Of A Private Citizen, I Am Accompanied With The Esteem And Approbation Of My Fellow Citizens, Trophies Obtained By The Bloodstained Steel, Or The Tattered Flags Of The Tented Field, Will Never Be Envied. The Care Of Human Life And Happiness, And Not Their Destruction, Is The First And Only Legitimate Object Of Good Government.
Retirement
Humble
Government
Nothing Is Unchangeable But The Inherent And Unalienable Rights Of Man.
Men
Rights
Morality
Not Less Than Two Hours A Day Should Be Devoted To Exercise.
Exercise
Two
Endurance
He Who Knows Best Knows How Little He Knows.
Work
Best Husband
Crafts
The Tumults In America I Expected Would Have Produced In Europe An Unfavorable Opinion Of Our Political State. But It Has Not. On The Contrary, The Small Effect Of These Tumults Seems To Have Given More Confidence In The Firmness Of Our Governments. The Interposition Of The People Themselves On The Side Of Government Has Had A Great Effect On The Opinion Here In Europe.
Wisdom
Government
Europe
When The Representative Body Have Lost The Confidence Of Their Constituents, When They Have Notoriously Made Sale Of Their Most Valuable Rights, When They Have Assumed To Themselves Powers Which The People Never Put Into Their Hands, Then Indeed Their Continuing In Office Becomes Dangerous To The State
Freedom
Rights
Hands
I Set Out On This Ground Which I Suppose To Be Self-evident, That The Earth Belongs In Usufruct To The Living. . . . We Seem Not To Perceive That, By The Law Of Nature, One Generation Is To Another As One Independent Nation Is To Another. . . . The Earth Belongs Always To The Living Generations.
4th Of July
Independent
Self
The Human Character, We Believe, Requires In General Constant And Immediate Control To Prevent Its Being Biased From Right By The Seductions Of Self-love.
Believe
Character
Self
The Further The Departure From Direct And Constant Control By The Citizens, The Less Has The Government Of The Ingredient Of Republicanism.
Government
Citizens
Departure
It Is Of Great Importance To Set A Resolution, Not To Be Shaken, Never To Tell An Untruth. There Is No Vice So Mean, So Pitiful, So Contemptible; And He Who Permits Himself To Tell A Lie Once, Finds It Much Easier To Do It A Second And A Third Time, Till At Length It Becomes Habitual.
Lying
Mean
Vices
The Juries Are Our Judges Of All Fact, And Of Law When They Choose It.
Law
Judging
Judgement
The Earth Belongs To The Living, Not To The Dead.
Life
Inspire
Earth
Societies Exist Under Three Forms Sufficiently Distinguishable. 1. Without Government, As Among Our Indians. 2. Under Governments Wherein The Will Of Every One Has A Just Influence, As Is The Case In England In A Slight Degree, And In Our States, In A Great One. 3. Under Governments Of Force: As Is The Case In All Other Monarchies And In Most Of The Other Republics. To Have An Idea Of The Curse Of Existence Under These Last, They Must Be Seen. It Is A Government Of Wolves Over Sheep.
Sheep
Government
Ideas
The Principle Of The Constitution Is That Of A Separation Of Legislative, Executive And Judiciary Functions, Except In Cases Specified. If This Principle Be Not Expressed In Direct Terms, It Is Clearly The Spirit Of The Constitution, And It Ought To Be So Commented And Acted On By Every Friend Of Free Government.
Government
Principles
Spirit
To Make Us One Nation As To Foreign Concerns, And Keep Us Distinct In Domestic Ones Gives The Outline Of The Proper Division Of Powers Between The General [national] And Particular [state] Governments.
4th Of July
Government
Giving
Political Dissension Is Doubtless A Less Evil Than The Lethargy Of Despotism: But Still It Is A Great Evil, And It Would Be As Worthy The Efforts Of The Patriot As Of The Philosopher, To Exclude Its Influence If Possible, From Social Life. The Good Are Rare Enough At Best. There Is No Reason To Subdivide Them By Artificial Lines. But Whether We Shall Ever Be Able So Far To Perfect The Principles Of Society As That Political Opinions Shall, In Its Intercourse, Be As Inoffensive As Those Of Philosophy, Mechanics, Or Any Other, May Well Be Doubted.
Philosophy
Political Opinions
Evil
Opinion, And The Just Maintenance Of It, Shall Never Be A Crime In My View.
Views
Maintenance
Opinion
The Constitution Is A Mere Thing Of Wax In The Hands Of The Judiciary, Which They May Twist And Shape Into Any Form They Please.
Patriotic
Hands
Twists
Where A New Invention Promises To Be Useful, It Ought To Be Tried.
Promise
President
Liberty
I Like The Dreams Of The Future Better Than The History Of The Past.
Love
Inspirational
Graduation
The Opinions And Beliefs Of Men Follow Involuntarily The Evidence Proposed To Their Minds.
Freedom
Men
Mind
Experience Has Already Shown That The Impeachment The Constitution Has Provided Is Not Even A Scarecrow.
Political
President
Politics
Who Better To So Softly Bind The Wound Of One, Than She Who Has Suffered The Wound Herself.
Wounds
Everyone Has A Natural Right To Choose That Vocation In Life Which He Thinks Most Likely Gives Him Comfortable Subsistence.
Life
Thinking
Giving
We See The Wisdom Of Solon's Remark, That No More Good Must Be Attempted Than The Nation Can Bear.
Bears
Remarks
Nations
A Candle Loses Nothing When It Lights Another Candle.
Light
Founding Fathers Democracy
Candle
If Your Letters Are As Long As The Bible, They Will Appear Short To Me. Only Let Them Be Brim Full Of Affection.
Long
Letters
Affection
Knowledge Is Power...knowled Ge Is Safety...knowle Dge Is Happiness.
Safety
Knowledge Is Power
The Reward Of Esteem, Respect And Gratitude [is] Due To Those Who Devote Their Time And Efforts To Render The Youths Of Every Successive Age Fit Governors For The Next.
Gratitude
Effort
Age
I Have Come To A Resolution Myself As I Hope Every Good Citizen Will, Never Again To Purchase Any Article Of Foreign Manufacture Which Can Be Had Of American Make, Be The Difference Of Price What It May.
Differences
May
Citizens
The Greatest Honor Of A Man Is In Doing Good To His Fellow Men, Not In Destroying Them.
Men
Honor
Fellow Man
The Late Rebellion In Massachusetts Has Given More Alarm Than I Think It Should Have Done. Calculate That One Rebellion In Thirteen States In The Course Of Eleven Years, Is But One For Each State In A Century And A Half. No Country Should Be So Long Without One. Nor Will Any Degree Of Power In The Hands Of Government Prevent Insurrections.
Wisdom
Country
Thinking
Though The Will Of The Majority Is In All Cases To Prevail, That Will, To Be Rightful, Must Be Reasonable.
Majority Rule
Tyranny Of The Majority
Minorities
Take Things Always By Their Smooth Handle.
Gratitude
Smooth
Handle
It Is To Secure Our Rights That We Resort To Government At All.
Rights
Government
Resorts
Nothing Is Troublesome That We Do Willingly.
Work
Troublesome
Nothing Betrays Imbecility So Much As The Being Insensible Of It.
Betray
Imbecility
Insensible
I Am An Epicurean. I Consider The Genuine (not The Imputed) Doctrines Of Epicurus As Containing Everything Rational In Moral Philosophy Which Greece And Rome Have Left Us.
Philosophy
Greek
Religion
I Have Ever Deemed It Fundamental For The United States Never To Take Active Part In The Quarrels Of Europe.... They Are Nations Of Eternal War.
War
Europe
United States
No Man Will Ever Carry Out Of The Presidency The Reputation Which Carried Him Into It.
Men
Political
Politics
There Is No Act, However Virtuous, For Which Ingenuity May Not Find Some Bad Motive.
President
May
Motive
The Way To Have Good And Safe Government Is Not To Trust It All To One, But To Divide It Among The Many, Distributing To Everyone Exactly The Functions In Which He Is Competent ... It Is By Dividing And Subdividing These Republics From The Great National One Down Through All Its Subordinations Until It Ends In The Administration Of Everyman's Farm By Himself, By Placing Under Everyone What His Own Eye May Superintend, That All Will Be Done For The Best.
Eye
Government
Liberty
We Figure Great Careers Aren't Made. They're Experienced.
Careers
Figures
Made
Most Men Die At Age 25, But Aren't Buried Until 70.
Men
Age
Buried
I Have Been Happy . . . In Believing That . . . Whatever Follies We May Be Led Into As To Foreign Nations, We Shall Never Give Up Our Union, The Last Anchor Of Our Hope, And That Alone Which Is To Prevent This Heavenly Country From Becoming An Arena Of Gladiators.
Country
Giving Up
Believe
A Strong Body Makes The Mind Strong.
Strong
Exercise
Gun
We Generally Learn Languages For The Benefit Of Reading The Books Written In Them
Book
Reading
Benefits
Walking Is The Best Possible Exercise. Habituate Yourself To Walk Very Far. The Europeans Value Themselves On Having Subdued The Horse To The Uses Of Man; But I Doubt Whether We Have Not Lost More Than We Have Gained, By The Use Of This Animal.
Horse
Exercise
Animal
The Moral Sense Is As Much A Part Of Our Constitution As That Of Feeling, Seeing, Or Hearing.
Feelings
Religion
Liberty
To Lay Taxes To Provide For The General Welfare Of The United States, That Is To Say, 'to Lay Taxes For The Purpose Of Providing For The General Welfare.' For The Laying Of Taxes Is The Power, And The General Welfare The Purpose For Which The Power Is To Be Exercised. They Are Not To Lay Taxes Ad Libitum For Any Purpose They Please; But Only To Pay The Debts Or Provide For The Welfare Of The Union.
United States
Purpose
Taxation
I Have Often Thought That If Heaven Had Given Me Choice Of My Position And Calling, It Should Have Been On A Rich Spot Of Earth, Well Watered, And Near A Good Market For The Productions Of The Garden. No Occupation Is So Delightful To Me As The Culture Of The Earth, And No Culture Comparable To That Of The Garden. Such A Variety Of Subjects, Some One Always Coming To Perfection, The Failure Of One Thing Repaired By The Success Of Another, And Instead Of One Harvest A Continued One Through The Year.
Garden
Should Have
Years
Though You Cannot See, When You Take One Step, What Will Be The Next, Yet Follow Truth, Justice, And Plain Dealing, And Never Fear Their Leading You Out Of [any Difficult Situation] In The Easiest Manner Possible.
Truth
Lying
Difficult Situations
The Qualifications For Self-government In Society Are Not Innate. They Are The Result Of Habit And Long Training.
Educational
Government
Self
But Every Difference Of Opinion Is Not A Difference Of Principle.
Differences
Principles
Politics
You Have Not Been Mistaken In Supposing My Views And Feeling To Be In Favor Of The Abolition Of War. Of My Dispos[i]tion To Maintain Peace Until Its Condition Shall Be Made Less Tolerable Than That Of War Itself, The World Has Had Proofs, And More, Perhaps, Than It Has Approved. I Hope It Is Practicable, By Improving The Mind And Morals Of Society, To Lessen The Dispos[i]tion To War; But Of Its Abolition I Despair.
Peace
War
Views
Whenever There Are In Any Country Uncultivated Lands And Unemployed Poor, It Is Clear That The Laws Of Property Have Been So Far Extended As To Violate Natural Right. The Earth Is Given As A Common Stock For Man To Labor And Live On. The Small Landowners Are The Most Precious Part Of A State
Country
Business
Men
Honesty Is The First Chapter In The Book Of Wisdom. Let It Be Our Endeavor To Merit The Character Of A Just Nation.
Honesty
Book
Character
Evil Triumphs When Good Men Do Nothing.
Courage
Patriotic
Men
The Best Commentary On The Principles Of Government Which Has Ever Been Written.
Government
Principles
Commentary
I Do Not Find In Orthodox Christianity One Redeeming Feature.
Atheist
Religion
President
Nothing Can Stop The Man With The Right Mental Attitude From Achieving His Goal; Nothing On Earth Can Help The Man With The Wrong Mental Attitude.
Inspirational
Positive
Success
Sir,-your Letter Of February The 18th Came To Hand On The 1st Instant; And The Request Of The History Of My Physical Habits Would Have Puzzled Me Not A Little, Had It Not Been For The Model With Which You Accompanied It, Of Doctor Rush's Answer To A Similar Inquiry. I Live So Much Like Other People, That I Might Refer To Ordinary Life As A History Of My Own. Like My Friend The Doctor, I Have Lived Temperately, Eating Very Little Animal Food, And That Not As An Aliment, So Much As A Condiment For The Vegetables, Which Constitute My Principle Diet.
Animal
Doctors
Hands
Private Fortunes, In The Present State Of Our Circulation, Are At The Mercy Of Those Self-created Money Lenders, And Are Prostrated By The Floods Of Nominal Money With Which Their Avarice Deluges Us.
Self
Mercy
States
Wake Up, Dream, Have The Ambition To Do The Things You Have Always Dreamed Of, Go Farther Than Any Man Has Ever Been Before, Go As Far As It Is Possible For Any Man To Go, What Have You Got To Lose? Nothing Can Stop The Man With The Right Mental Attitude From Achieving His Goal; Nothing On Earth Can Help The Man With The Wrong Mental Attitude.
Dream
Attitude
Ambition
The Creator Has Not Thought Proper To Mark Those In The Forehead Who Are Of Stuff To Make Good Generals. We Are First, Therefore, To Seek Them Blindfold, And Then Let Them Learn The Trade At The Expense Of Great Losses.
Loss
Stuff
Firsts
The Earth Belongs To The Living. No Man Can, By Natural Right, Oblige The Lands He Occupied Or The Persons Who Succeed Him In That Occupation, To The Payment Of Debts Contracted By Him. For If He Could, He Might, During His Own Life, Eat Up The Use Of The Lands For Several Generations To Come, And Then The Lands Would Belong To The Dead, And Not To The Living. No Generation Can Contract Debts Greater Than May Be Paid During The Course Of Its Own Existence.
Men
Land
Generations
Music Furnishes A Delightful Recreation For The Hours Of Respite From The Cares Of The Day, And Lasts Us Through Life.
Care
Lasts
Hours
My Construction Of The Constitution Is Very Different From That You Quote. It Is That Each Department Is Truly Independent Of The Others, And Has An Equal Right To Decide For Itself What Is The Meaning Of The Constitution In The Cases Submitted To Its Action; And Especially, Where It Is To Act Ultimately And Without Appeal.
Independent
Different
Action
This Ball Of Liberty, I Believe Most Piously, Is Now So Well In Motion That It Will Roll Round The Globe. At Least The Enlightened Part Of It, For Light & Liberty Go Together.
Believe
Light
Liberty
The Federal Government Is Our Servant, Not Our Master.
Government
Masters
Servant
We Have Solved, By Fair Experiment, The Great And Interesting Question Whether Freedom Of Religion Is Compatible With Order In Government And Obedience To The Laws. And We Have Experienced The Quiet As Well As The Comfort Which Results From Leaving Every One To Profess Freely And Openly Those Principles Of Religion Which Are The Inductions Of His Own Reason And The Serious Convictions Of His Own Inquiries.
Religious
Order
Law
Laws That Forbid The Carrying Of Arms . . . Disarm Only Those Who Are Neither Inclined Nor Determined To Commit Crimes . . . Such Laws Make Things Worse For The Assaulted And Better For The Assailants; They Serve Rather To Encourage Than To Prevent Homicides, For An Unarmed Man May Be Attacked With Greater Confidence Than An Armed Man.
Men
Gun
Law
The Good Opinion Of Mankind, Like The Lever Of Archimedes, With The Given Fulcrum, Moves The World.
Moving
Public Opinion
World
I Will Now Add What I Do Not Like. First, The Omission Of A Bill Of Rights Providing Clearly And Without The Aid Of Sophisms For Freedom Of Religion, Freedom Of The Press, Protection Against Standing Armies, Restriction Against Monopolies, The Eternal And Unremitting Force Of The Habeas Corpus Laws, And Trials By Jury In All Matters Of Fact Triable By The Laws Of The Land And Not By The Law Of Nations.
Army
Omission
Rights
I Place Economy Among The First And Most Important Virtues And Public Debt As The Greatest Dangers To Be Feared. To Preserve Our Independence, We Must Not Let Our Rulers Load Us With Perpetual Debt. If We Run Into Such Debts, We Must Be Taxed In Our Meat And Drink, In Our Necessities And In Our Comforts, In Our Labor And In Our Amusements. If We Can Prevent The Government From Wasting The Labor Of The People, Under The Pretense Of Caring For Them, They Will Be Happy.
Government
Practice
People
Perhaps It Will Be Found That To Obtain A Just Republic (and It Is To Secure Our Just Rights That We Resort To Government At All) It Must Be So Extensive As That Local Egoisms May Never Reach Its Greater Part; That On Every Particular Question, A Majority May Be Found In Its Councils Free From Particular Interests, And Giving, Therefore, An Uniform Prevalence To The Principles Of Justice.
Rights
Government
Giving
History, In General, Only Informs Us Of What Bad Government Is.
Government
History
Historical
The Central Bank Is An Institution Of The Most Deadly Hostility Existing Against The Principles And Form Of Our Constitution.
Principles
Constitution
Form
With Nations As With Individuals Our Interests Soundly Calculated Will Ever Be Found Inseparable From Our Moral Duties.
Politics
Morality
Individual
We Lay It Down As A Fundamental, That Laws, To Be Just, Must Give A Reciprocation Of Right; That, Without This, They Are Mere Arbitrary Rules Of Conduct, Founded In Force, And Not In Conscience.
Law
Giving
Arbitrary
Bigotry Is The Disease Of Ignorance.
Ignorance
Disease
Bigotry
Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.


2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.


2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.


2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.


3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.


3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.


3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.



4. Proper Usage of Quotes


4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.


4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.


4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).


5. Common Mistakes to Avoid


5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.


5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.


5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.



6. Quotes in Different Contexts


6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.


6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.


6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.



7. Punctuation and Formatting


Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:


Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.


Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.


Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.



8. Ethical Considerations


Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes


Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.



Conclusion


Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.


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