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It Is Important To Strengthen The State Governments; And As This Cannot Be Done By Any Change In The Federal Constitution (for The Preservation Of That Is All We Need Contend For), It Must Be Done By The States Themselves, Erecting Such Barriers At The Constitutional Line As Cannot Be Surmounted Either By Themselves Or By The General Government. The Only Barrier In Their Power Is A Wise Government. A Weak One Will Lose Ground In Every Contest.
-Thomas Jefferson
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It Is Important To

Thomas Jefferson
It Is Important To Strengthen The State Governments; And As This Cannot Be Done By Any Change In The Federal Constitution (for The Preservation Of That Is All We Need Contend For), It Must Be Done By The States Themselves, Erecting Such Barriers At The Constitutional Line As Cannot Be Surmounted Either By Themselves Or By The General Government. The Only Barrier In Their Power Is A Wise Government. A Weak One Will Lose Ground In Every Contest.
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Wise
Government
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When I Contemplate The Immense Advances In Science And Discoveries In The Arts Which Have Been Made Within The Period Of My Life, I Look Forward With Confidence To Equal Advances By The Present Generation, And Have No Doubt They Will Consequently Be As Much Wiser Than We Have Been As We Than Our Fathers Were, And They Than The Burners Of Witches.
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We Are Here Lounging Our Time Away, Doing Nothing, And Having Nothing To Do. It Gives Me Great Regret To Be Passing My Time So Uselessly When It Could Have Been So Importantly Employed At Home.
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A Well Informed Citizenry Is The Best Defense Against Tyranny.
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Nothing But A Necessity Invincible By Any Other Means Can Justify ... A Prostitution Of Laws, Which Constitute The Pillars Of Our Whole System Of Jurisprudence.
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Is It Less Dishonest To Do What Is Wrong Because It Is Not Expressly Prohibited By Written Law? Let Us Hope Our Moral Principles Are Not Yet In That Stage Of Degeneracy.
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My Principles, And Those Always Received By The Republicans, Do Not Admit To Removing Any Person From Office Merely For A Difference Of Political Opinion. Malversations In Office, And The Exerting Of Official Influence To Control The Freedom Of Election Are Good Causes For Removal.
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In The Fevered State Of Our Country, No Good Can Ever Result From Any Attempt To Set One Of These Fiery Zealots To Rights, Either In Fact Or Principle. They Are Determined As To The Facts They Will Believe, And The Opinions On Which They Will Act. Get By Them, Therefore, As You Would By An Angry Bull; It Is Not For A Man Of Sense To Dispute The Road With Such An Animal.
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In Every Country And Every Age, The Priest Has Been Hostile To Liberty. He Is Always In Alliance With The Despot, Abetting His Abuses In Return For Protection To His Own. It Is Easier To Acquire Wealth And Power By This Combination Than By Deserving Them, And To Effect This, They Have Perverted The Purest Religion Ever Preached To Man Into Mystery And Jargon, Unintelligible To All Mankind, And Therefore The Safer For Their Purposes.
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When An Instrument Admits Two Constructions, The One Safe, The Other Dangerous, The One Precise, The Other Indefinite, I Prefer That Which Is Safe And Precise.
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We Are The Friends Of Liberty Everywhere, But The Guarrantors Of Only Our Own.
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No Freeman Shall Be Debarred The Use Of Arms.
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How Sublime To Look Down On The Workhouse Of Nature, To See Her Clouds, Hail, Snow, Rain, Thunder, All Fabricated At Our Feet!
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I Have So Much Confidence In The Good Sense Of Man, And His Qualifications For Self-government, That I Am Never Afraid Of The Issue Where Reason Is Left Free To Exert Her Force.
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It Will Be Said That Great Societies Cannot Exist Without Government.
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My General Plan Would Be To Make The States One As To Everything Connected With Foreign Nations And Several As To Everything Purely Domestic.
Would Be
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It Is (our) Duty . . . To Pay Especial Attention To The Principles Of Government Which Shall Be Inculcated Therein (at The University), And To Provide That None Shall Be Inculcated Which Are Incompatible With Those On Which The Constitutions Of This State, And Of The United States Were Genuinely Based, In The Common Opinion; And For This Purpose It May Be Necessary To Point Out Specially Where These Principles Are To Be Found Legitimately Developed.
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I Think It Is A Great Error To Consider A Heavy Tax On Wines As A Tax On Luxury. On The Contrary, It Is A Tax On The Health Of Our Citizens.
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Thinking
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I Consider Ethics, As Well As Religion, As Supplements To Law In The Government Of Man.
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To The Corruptions Of Christianity I Am Indeed Opposed; But Not To The Genuine Precepts Of Jesus Himself. I Am A Christian, In The Only Sense He Wished Any One To Be; Sincerely Attached To His Doctrines, In Preference To All Others; Ascribing To Himself Every Human Excellence; & Believing He Never Claimed Any Other.
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I Trust There Is Not A Young Man Now Living In The United States Who Will Not Die A Unitarian.
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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.
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Shake Off All The Fears And Servile Prejudices Under Which Weak Minds Are Servilely Crouched. Fix Reason Firmly In Her Seat, And Call To Her Tribunal Every Fact, Every Opinion. Question With Boldness Even The Existence Of A God; Because, If There Be One, He Must More Approve The Homage Of Reason, Than That Of Blindfolded Fear... Your Own Reason Is The Only Oracle Given You By Heaven, And You Are Answerable Not For The Rightness But Uprightness Of The Decision.
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Those Who Have Once Got An Ascendancy, And Possessed Themselves Of All The Resources Of The Nation, Their Revenues And Offices, Have Immense Means For Retaining Their Advantage.
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When A Man Assumes A Public Trust He Should Consider Himself A Public Property.
Trust
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The Idea Is Quite Unfounded That On Entering Into Society We Give Up Any Natural Rights.
Giving Up
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Ideas
Taxes Should Be Proportioned To What May Be Annually Spared By The Individual.
Taxation
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Drawing ... Is An Innocent & Engaging Amusement, Often Useful, And A Qualification Not To Be Neglected In One Who Is To Become A Mother & An Instructor.
Mother
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If The Wise Be The Happy Man... He Must Be Virtuous Too; For, Without Virtue, Happiness Cannot Be. This Then Is The True Scope Of All Academical Emulation.
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When Sins Are Dear To Us We Are Too Prone To Slide Into Them Again. The Act Of Repentance Itself Is Often Sweetened With The Thought That It Clears Our Account For A Repetition Of The Same Sin.
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Louisiana, As Ceded By France To The United States, Is Made A Part Of The United States; Its White Inhabitants Shall Be Citizens, And Stand, As To Their Rights And Obligations, On The Same Footing With Other Citizens Of The United States, In Analogous Situations.
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A Walk About Paris Will Provide Lessons In History, Beauty, And In The Point Of Life.
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Let Those Flatter, Who Fear: It Is Not An American Art. To Give Praise Where It Is Not Due, Might Be Well From The Venal, But Would Ill Beseem Those Who Are Asserting The Rights Of Human Nature.
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Principle Will, In... Most... Cases Open The Way For Us To Correct Conclusion.
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Yet By Such Worthless Beings Is A Great Nation To Be Governed And Even Made To Deify Their Old King Because He Is Only A Fool And A Maniac, And To Forgive And Forget His Having Lost To Them A Great And Flourishing Empire.
Kings
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Good Humor Is One Of The Preservatives Of Our Peace And Tranquility.
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It Is The Old Practice Of Despots To Use A Part Of The People To Keep The Rest In Order.
Freedom
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Practice
The Advocate Of Religious Freedom Is To Expect Neither Peace Nor Forgiveness From [the Clergy].
Religious
Christianity
Clergy
...let Us Save What Remains; Not By Vaults And Locks Which Fence Them From The Public Eye And Use In Consigning Them To The Waste Of Time, But By Such A Multiplication Of Copies, As Shall Place Them Beyond The Reach Of Accident.
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In Matters Of Religion, I Have Considered That Its Free Exercise Is Placed By The Constitution Independent Of The Powers Of The General Government. I Have Therefore Undertaken On No Occasion To Prescribe The Religious Exercises Suited To It; But Have Left Them As The Constitution Found Them, Under The Direction And Discipline Of State Or Church Authorities Acknowledged By The Several Religious Societies.
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The World Is Indebted For All Triumphs Which Have Been Gained By Reason And Humanity Over Error And Oppression.
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The Wise Know Too Well Their Weakness To Assume Infallibility; And He Who Knows Most Knows Best How Little He Knows.
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History Has Informed Us That Bodies Of Men As Well As Individuals Are Susceptible Of The Spirit Of Tyranny.
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I Hold It That A Little Rebellion, Now And Then, Is A Good Thing, And As Necessary In The Political World As Storms Are In The Physical. Unsuccessful Rebellions, Indeed, Generally Establish The Encroachments On The Rights Of The People, Which Have Produced Them. An Observation Of This Truth Should Render Honest Republican Governors So Mild In Their Punishment Of Rebellions, As Not To Discourage Them Too Much. It Is Medicine Necessary For The Sound Health Of Government.
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Our Minds Were Circumscribed Within Narrow Limits By An Habitual Belief That It Was Our Duty To Be Subordinate To The Mother Country.
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I Shall Need, Too, The Favor Of That Being In Whose Hands We Are, Who Led Our Forefathers, As Israel Of Old.
Israel
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Though The Will Of The Majority Is In All Cases To Prevail, That Will, To Be Rightful, Must Be Reasonable.
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Amplification Is The Vice Of Modern Oratory. It Is An Insult To An Assembly Of Reasonable Men, Disgusting And Revolting Instead Ofpersuading. Speeches Measured By The Hour, Die By The Hour.
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...is The Spirit Of The People An Infallible, A Permanent Reliance? ...the Spirit Of The Times May Alter, Will Alter. Our Rulers Will Become Corrupt, Our People Careless.
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I Own That I Am Not A Friend To A Very Energetic Government. It Is Always Oppressive.
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[the Purpose Of A Written Constitution Is] To Bind Up The Several Branches Of Government By Certain Laws, Which, When They Transgress, Their Acts Shall Become Nullities; To Render Unnecessary An Appeal To The People, Or In Other Words A Rebellion, On Every Infraction Of Their Rights, On The Peril That Their Acquiescence Shall Be Construed Into An Intention To Surrender Those Rights.
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The People Cannot Be All, And Always Well Informed. The Part Which Is Wrong Will Be Discontented In Proportion To The Importance Of The Facts They Misconceive.
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A Government Regulating Itself By What Is Wise And Just For The Many, Uninfluenced By The Local And Selfish Views Of The Few Who Direct Their Affairs, Has Not Been Seen, Perhaps, On Earth. Or If It Existed For A Moment At The Birth Of Ours, It Would Not Be Easy To Fix The Term Of Its Continuance. Still, I Believe It Does Exist Here In A Greater Degree Than Anywhere Else; And For Its Growth And Continuance... I Offer Sincere Prayers.
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It Is Surely Time For Men To Think For Themselves, And To Throw Off The Authority Of Names So Artificially Magnified.
Men
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The Commotions That Have Taken Place In America, As Far As They Are Yet Known To Me, Offer Nothing Threatening. They Are A Proof That The People Have Liberty Enough, And I Could Not Wish Them Less Than They Have. If The Happiness Of The Mass Of The People Can Be Secured At The Expense Of A Little Tempest Now And Then, Or Even Of A Little Blood, It Will Be A Precious Purchase. 'malo Libertatem Periculosam Quam Quietem Servitutem.' Let Common Sense And Common Honesty Have Fair Play, And They Will Soon Set Things To Rights.
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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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The People, Especially When Moderately Instructed, Are The Only Safe, Because The Only Honest, Depositaries Of The Public Rights, And Should Therefore Be Introduced Into The Administration Of Them In Every Function To Which They Are Sufficient; They Will Err Sometimes And Accidentally, But Never Designedly, And With A Systematic And Persevering Purpose Of Overthrowing The Free Principles Of The Government.
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We Ought Not To Schismatize On Either Men Or Measures. Principles Alone Can Justify That.
Men
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Whenever Any Form Of Government Becomes Destructive Of These Ends [life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Happiness] It Is The Right Of The People To Alter Or Abolish It, And To Institute New Government.
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The Rights [to Religious Freedom] Are Of The Natural Rights Of Mankind, And ... If Any Act Shall Be ... Passed To Repeal [an Act Granting Those Rights] Or To Narrow Its Operation, Such Act Will Be An Infringement Of Natural Right.
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The Policy Of The American Government Is To Leave Their Citizens Free, Neither Restraining Nor Aiding Them In Their Pursuits.
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For St. Paul Only Says That It Is Better To Be Married Than To Burn. Now I Presume That If That Apostle Had Known That Providence Would At An After Day Be So Kind To Any Particular Set Of People As To Furnish Them With Other Means Of Extinguishing Their Fire Than Those Of Matrimony, He Would Have Earnestly Recmmended Them To Their Practice.
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I Considered The British As Our Natural Enemies, And As The Only Nation On Earth Who Wished Us Ill From The Bottom Of Their Souls. And I Am Satisfied That Were Our Continent To Be Swallowed Up By The Ocean, Great Britain Would Be In A Bonfire From One End To The Other.
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A Community Of Small Farmers... Land Property Owners, Will Be The Only Assurance That The Freedom Our Republic Offers Will Be Guaranteed To Each And Every Citizen.
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The Central Bank Is An Institution Of The Most Deadly Hostility Existing Against The Principles And Form Of Our Constitution.
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You Have Never By A Word Or A Deed Given Me One Moment's Uneasiness; On The Contrary I Have Felt Perpetual Gratitude To Heaven Forhaving Given Me, In You, A Source Of So Much Pure And Unmixed Happiness.
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Let Common Sense And Common Honesty Have Fair Play, And They Will Soon Set Things To Rights.
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If [god] Has Made It A Law In The Nature Of Man To Pursue His Own Happiness, He Has Left Him Free In The Choice Of Place As Well As Mode, And We May Safely Call On The Whole Body Of English Jurists To Produce The Map On Which Nature Has Traced For Each Individual The Geographical Line Which She Forbids Him To Cross In Pursuit Of Happiness.
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Law
It Would Reduce The Whole Instrument To A Single Phrase, That Of Instituting A Congress With Power To Do Whatever Would Be For The Good Of The United States; And As They Would Be The Sole Judges Of The Good Or Evil, It Would Be Also A Power To Do Whatever Evil They Please . . . . Certainly No Such Universal Power Was Meant To Be Given Them. It [the Constitution] Was Intended To Lace Them Up Straightly Within The Enumerated Powers And Those Without Which, As Means, These Powers Could Not Be Carried Into Effect.
Mean
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Bigotry Is The Disease Of Ignorance.
Ignorance
Disease
Bigotry
What But Education Has Advanced Us Beyond The Condition Of Our Indigenous Neighbors? And What Chains Them To Their Present State Of Barbarism And Wretchedness But A Bigoted Veneration For The Supposed Superlative Wisdom Of Their Fathers And The Preposterous Idea That They Are To Look Backward For Better Things And Not Forward, Longing, As It Should Seem, To Return To The Days Of Eating Acorns And Roots Rather Than Indulge In The Degeneracies Of Civilization?
Father
Civilization
Ideas
Nothing Is Unchangeable But The Inherent And Unalienable Rights Of Man.
Men
Rights
Morality
The Constitutions Of Most Of Our States Assert, That All Power Is Inherent In The People; That They May Exercise It By Themselves, In All Cases To Which They Think Themselves Competent, Or They May Act By Representatives, Freely And Equally Chosen; That It Is Their Right And Duty To Be At All Times Armed; That They Are Entitled To Freedom Of Person, Freedom Of Religion, Freedom Of Property, And Freedom Of The Press.
Exercise
Gun
Strong Arms
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.
Believe
Evil
Gold
It Is Always Better To Have No Ideas Than False Ones; To Believe Nothing, Than To Believe What Is Wrong.
Believe
Ideas
Atheism
It's Only Merit Was In Being The First Publication Which Carried The Claim Of Our Rights Their Whole Length, And Asserted That There Was No Rightful Link Of Connection Between Us And England But That Of Being Under The Same King.
Kings
Rights
Liberty
We Defer Therefore Till This Time Twelve Month To Avail Ourselves Of The Instruction Of That Place, And Particularly Of Your Kindness In The Two Branches Of Botany And Natural History To Which We Wish Him Particularly To Apply.
Kindness
Educational
Two
The Provisions We Have Made [for Our Government] Are Such As Please Ourselves; They Answer The Substantial Purposes Of Government And Of Justice, And Other Purposes Than These Should Not Be Answered.
Government
Justice
Purpose
There Is Not In The British Empire A Man Who More Cordially Loves A Union With Great Britain Than I Do. But By The God That Made Me, I Will Cease To Exist Before I Yield To A Connection On Such Terms As The British Parliament Propose.
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Yield
Connections
Where The Principle Of Difference [between Political Parties] Is As Substantial And As Strongly Pronounced As Between The Republicans And The Monocrats Of Our Country, I Hold It As Honorable To Take A Firm And Decided Part And As Immoral To Pursue A Middle Line, As Between The Parties Of Honest Men And Rogues, Into Which Every Country Is Divided.
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Party
Men
Most Men Die At Age 25, But Aren't Buried Until 70.
Men
Age
Buried
If Ever There Was A Holy War, It Was That Which Saved Our Liberties And Gave Us Independence.
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Where A New Invention Promises To Be Useful, It Ought To Be Tried.
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I Tremble For My Country When I Reflect That God Is Just: That His Justice Cannot Sleep Forever: That, Considering Numbers, Nature, And Natural Means Only, A Revolution Of The Wheel Of Fortune, An Exchange Of Situation, Is Among Possible Events: That It May Become Probable By Supernatural Interference! The Almighty Has No Attribute Which Can Take Side With Us In Such A Contest.
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The Influence Over Government Must Be Shared Among All The People. If Every Individual Which Composes Their Mass Participates Of The Ultimate Authority, The Government Will Be Safe, Because The Corrupting Of The Whole Mass Will Exceed Any Private Resources Of Wealth, And Public Ones Cannot Be Provided But By Levies On The People. In This Case Every Man Would Have To Pay His Own Price.
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People
Safe
We Are Sensible Of The Duty And Expediency Of Submitting Our Opinions To The Will Of The Majority, And Can Wait With Patience Till They Get Right If They Happen To Be At Any Time Wrong.
Waiting
Democracy
Majority
I See Now Our Fireside Formed Into A Groupe, No One Member Of Which Has A Fibre In Their Composition Which Can Ever Produce Any Jarring Or Jealousies Among Us. No Irregular Passions, No Dangerous Bias, Which May Render Problematical The Future Fortunes And Happiness Of Our Descendants.
Happiness
Passion
May
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Reading
Reflection
Bears
An Acre Of The Best Ground For Hemp, Is To Be Selected And Sewn In Hemp And Be Kept For A Permanent Hemp Patch.
Acres
Hemp
Patches
We May Say With Truth And Meaning, That Governments Are More Or Less Republican, As They Have More Or Less Of The Element Of Popular Election And Control In Their Composition; And Believing As I Do, That The Mass Of The Citizens Is The Safest Depository Of Their Own Rights And Especially That The Evils Flowing From The Duperies Of The People Are Less Injurious Than Those From The Egoism Of Their Agents, I Am A Friend To That Composition Of Government Which Has In It The Most Of This Ingredient.
Believe
Rights
Government
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.
God
Support
Independence
A Free People [claim] Their Rights As Derived From The Laws Of Nature, And Not As The Gift Of Their Chief Magistrate.
4th Of July
Rights
Law
The Superiority Of Chocolate (hot Chocolate), Both For Health And Nourishment, Will Soon Give It The Same Preference Over Tea And Coffee In America Which It Has In Spain.
Coffee
America
Giving
This Doctrine ['that The Condition Of Man Cannot Be Ameliorated, That What Has Been Must Ever Be, And That To Secure Ourselves Where We Are We Must Tread With Awful Reverence In The Footsteps Of Our Fathers']is The Genuine Fruit Of The Alliance Between Church And State, The Tenants Of Which Finding Themselves But Too Well In Their Present Condition, Oppose All Advances Which Might Unmask Their Usurpations And Monopolies Of Honors, Wealth And Power, And Fear Every Change As Endangering The Comforts They Now Hold.
Father
Men
Honor
Not Less Than Two Hours A Day Should Be Devoded To Exercise, And Weather Should Be Little Regarded. A Person Not Sick Will Not Be Injured By Getting Wet. It Is But Taking A Cold Bath, Which Never Gives A Cold To Any One. Brute Animals Are The Most Healthy, And They Are Exposed To All Weather, And Of Men, Those Are Healthiest Who Are The Most Exposed.
Exercise
Men
Animal
Believing That The Happiness Of Mankind Is Best Promoted By The Useful Pursuits Of Peace, That On These Alone A Stable Prosperity Can Be Founded, That The Evils Of War Are Great In Their Endurance, And Have A Long Reckoning For Ages To Come, I Have Used My Best Endeavors To Keep Our Country Uncommitted In The Troubles Which Afflict Europe, And Which Assail Us On Every Side.
Country
Peace
War
Although We Are Free By The Law, We Are Not So In Practice.
Law
Practice
To Take A Single Step Beyond The Text Would Be To Take Possession Of A Boundless Field Of Power.
Would Be
Fields
Steps
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
Never Buy What You Do Not Want, Because It Is Cheap; It Will Be Dear To You.
Advice
Liberty
Want
That These Are Our Grievances Which We Have Thus Laid Before His Majesty, With That Freedom Of Language And Sentiment Which Becomes A Free People Claiming Their Rights As Derived From The Laws Of Nature, And Not As The Gift Of Their Chief Magistrate.
Rights
Law
People
A Lawyer Without Books Would Be Like A Workman Without Tools.
Book
Would Be
Tools
Our Particular Principles Of Religion Are A Subject Of Accountability To Our God Alone. I Enquire After No Man's And Trouble None With Mine; Nor Is It Given To Us In This Life To Know Whether Yours Or Mine, Our Friend's Or Our Foe's, Are Exactly The Right.
Men
Accountability
Religion
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
Private Enterprise Manages So Much Better All The Concerns To Which It Is Equal.
Civil Rights
Equal
Enterprise
The Only Way To Win Money Out Of A Casino Is To Own One.
Wisdom
Winning
Casinos
When Tempted To Do Any Thing In Secret, Ask Yourself If You Would Do It In Public.
Temptation
Secret
Tempted
I Think Our Governments Will Remain Virtuous For Many Centuries; As Long As They Are Chiefly Agricultural.
Garden
Thinking
Government
If You Have To Eat Crow, Eat It While It's Young And Tender.
Motivational
Wisdom
Crow
Congress Errs In Too Much Talking, How Can It Be Otherwise, In A Body To Which The People Send One Hundred And Fifty Lawyers, Whose Trade It Is To Question Everything, Yield Nothing, And Talk By The Hour?
Funny
Yield
Law Students
In A Virtuous Government, And More Especially In Times Like These, Public Offices Are What They Should Be - Burdens To Those Appointed To Them Which It Would Be Wrong To Decline, Though Foreseen To Bring Them Intense Labor And Great Private Loss.
Loss
Government
Times Like These
One Loves To Possess Arms, Though They Hope Never To Have Occasion For Them.
Love
Strength
Hope
Congress Has Not Unlimited Powers To Provide For The General Welfare, But Only Those Specifically Enumerated.
Presidential
Liberty
Libertarian
An Honest Man Can Feel No Pleasure In The Exercise Of Power Over His Fellow Citizens . . . There Has Never Been A Moment Of My Life In Which I Should Have Relinquished For It The Enjoyments Of My Family, My Farm, My Friends And Books.
Book
Exercise
Men
The Foundation On Which (our Government Is) Built Is The Natural Equality Of Man, The Denial Of Every Pre-eminence But That Annexed To Legal Office, And Particularly The Denial Of A Pre-eminence By Birth.
Men
Office
Foundation
One Man With Courage Is A Majority.
Motivational
Success
Courage
Believing With You That Religion Is A Matter Which Lies Solely Between Man And His God, That He Owes Account To None Other For His Faith Or His Worship, That The Legislative Powers Of Government Reach Actions Only, And Not Opinions, I Contemplate With Sovereign Reverence That Act Of The Whole American People Which Declared That Their Legislature Should 'make No Law Respecting An Establishment Of Religion, Or Prohibiting The Free Exercise Thereof,' Thus Building A Wall Of Separation Between Church And State.
Religious
Atheist
Wall
Life Is Of No Value But As It Brings Gratifications. Among The Most Valuable Of These Is Rational Society. It Informs The Mind, Sweetens The Temper, Chears Our Spirits, And Promotes Health.
Educational
Mind
Spirit
Bodily Decay Is Gloomy In Prospect, But Of All Human Contemplations The Most Abhorrent Is Body Without Mind.
Perspective
Mind
Endurance
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.
Religious
Exercise
Government
The Greatest Good We Can Do Our Country Is To Heal Its Party Divisions And Make Them One People.
Country
Party
People
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.
Spring
Educational
Character
Whenever You Are To Do A Thing, Though It Can Never Be Known But To Yourself, Ask Yourself How You Would Act Were All The World Looking At You, And Act Accordingly.
Life
Character
World
Motherhood Is The Keystone Of The Arch Of Matrimonial Happiness.
Mom
Mother
Arches
None But An Armed Nation Can Dispense With A Standing Army. To Keep Ours Armed And Disciplined Is Therefore At All Times Important.
Army
Gun
Important
I Never Before Knew The Full Value Of Trees. Under Them I Breakfast, Dine, Write, Read And Receive My Company.
Nature
Writing
Garden
One Had Rather Have No Opinion Than A False One.
Opinion
Let Our Countrymen Know That The People Alone Can Protect Us Against These Evils Of Misgovernment.
People
Evil
Protect
A Morsel Of Genuine History Is A Thing So Rare As To Be Always Valuable.
Wisdom
Government
History
While Wading Through The Whimsies, The Puerilities, And Unintelligible Jargon Of This Work [plato's Republic], I Laid It Down Often To Ask Myself How It Could Have Been That The World Should Have So Long Consented To Give Reputation To Such Nonsense As This?
Plato
Philosophy
Science
I Have Overlived The Generation With Which Mutual Labors & Perils Begat Mutual Confidence And Influence.
Generations
Influence
Peril
Our Rulers Can Have Authority Over Such Natural Rights Only As We Have Submitted To Them.
Rights
Natural
Authority
I See The Necessity Of Sacrificing Our Opinions Sometimes To The Opinions Of Others For The Sake Of Harmony.
Sacrifice
Politics
Sake
Always Take Hold Of Things By The Smooth Handle.
Life
Smooth
Handle
If There Is A Gratification Which I Envy Any People In This World It Is To Your Country [italy] Its Music. This Is The Favorite Passion Of My Soul, And Fortune Has Cast My Lot In A Country Where It Is In A State Of Deplorable Barbarism.
Music
Country
Passion
It Has Also Been A Great Solace To Me, To Believe That You Are Engaged In Vindicating To Posterity The Course We Have Pursued For Preserving To Them, In All Their Purity, The Blessings Of Self-government, Which We Had Assisted Too In Acquiring For Them. If Ever The Earth Has Beheld A System Of Administration Conducted With A Single And Steadfast Eye To The General Interest And Happiness Of Those Committed To It, One Which, Protected By Truth, Can Never Know Reproach, It Is That To Which Our Lives Have Been Devoted.
Believe
Eye
Blessing
But Though An Old Man, I Am But A Young Gardener.
Men
Garden
Young
The Idea Of Creating A National Bank I Do Not Concur In, Because It Seems Now Decided That Congress Has Not That Power (although I Sincerely Wish They Had It Exclusively), And Because I Think There Is Already A Vast Redundancy Rather Than A Scarcity Of Paper Medium.
Thinking
Ideas
Creating
Erecting The 'wall Of Separation Between Church And State'... Is Absolutely Essential In A Free Society.
Religious
Wall
Religion
It Is A Misnomer To Call A Government Republican In Which A Branch Of The Supreme Power Is Independent Of The Nation.
Independent
Government
Branches
For Themselves They Fought, For Themselves They Conquered, And For Themselves Alone They Have They Have Right To Hold.
I View Great Cities As Pestilential To The Morals, The Health, And The Liberties Of Man.
Men
Views
Cities
The Moral Sense Is The First Excellence Of Well-organized Man.
Men
Excellence
Firsts
I Know Nothing More Important To Inculcate Into The Minds Of Young People Than The Wisdom, The Honor, And The Blessed Comfort Of Living Within Their Income.
Blessed
People
Honor
Morals Were Too Essential To The Happiness Of Man, To Be Risked On The Uncertain Combinations Of The Head. Nature Laid Their Foundation, Therefore, In Sentiment, Not In Science.
Men
Foundation
Essentials
If I Had To Choose Between Government And A Free Press, I Would Choose A Free Press.
Government
Free Press
Ifs
Whenever You Do A Thing, Act As If All The World Were Watching.
Inspirational
Life
Motivational
It Is Not Only Vain, But Wicked, In A Legislator To Frame Laws In Opposition To The Laws Of Nature, And To Arm Them With The Terrors Of Death. This Is Truly Creating Crimes In Order To Punish Them.
Thinking
Order
Law
Nothing Can Be Believed But What One Sees, Or Has From An Eye Witness.
Eye
Witness
You And I Have Formerly Seen Warm Debates And High Political Passions. But Gentlemen Of Different Politics Would Then Speak To Each Other And Separate The Business Of The Senate From That Of Society. It Is Not So Now. Men Who Have Been Intimate All Their Lives, Cross The Streets To Avoid Meeting, And Turn Their Heads Another Way, Lest They Should Be Obliged To Touch Their Hats. This May Do For Young Men With Whom Passion Is Enjoyment. But It Is Afflicting To Peaceable Minds. Tranquility Is The Old Man's Milk.
Passion
Men
Political
With Those Who Wish To Think Amiss Of Me, I Have Learnt To Be Perfectly Indifferent: But Where I Know A Mind To Be Ingenuous, Andto Need Only Truth To Set It To Rights, I Cannot Be As Passive.
Truth
Thinking
Rights
The Declaration Of Independence . . . [is The] Declaratory Charter Of Our Rights, And The Rights Of Man.
Men
Rights
Independence
Whenever The People Are Well-informed, They Can Be Trusted With Their Own Government.
Trust
Freedom
Educational
But Every State, Says An Inquisitor, Has Established Some Religion. No Two, Say I, Have Established The Same. Is This A Proof Of The Infallibility Of Establishments?
Two
Atheism
Proof
Creeds Have Been The Bane Of The Christian Church ... Made Of Christendom A Slaughter-house.
Christian
Religious
Father
A Single Zealot May Commence Prosecutor, And Better Men Be His Victims.
Men
May
Victim
The Steady Character Of Our Countrymen Is A Rock To Which We May Safely Moor; And Notwithstanding The Efforts Of The Papers To Disseminate Early Discontents, I Expect That A Just, Dispassionate And Steady Conduct, Will At Length Rally To A Proper System The Great Body Of Our Country. Unequivocal In Principle, Reasonable In Manner, We Shall Be Able I Hope To Do A Great Deal Of Good To The Cause Of Freedom & Harmony.
Country
Character
Rocks
All Men Are Created Equal And Have The Right To Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Happiness.
Pursuit Of Happiness
Men
Liberty
Ours Are The Only Farmers Who Can Read Homer
Educational
Farmers
I Hope The Terms Of Excellency, Honor, Worship, Esquire, Forever Disappear From Among Us... I Wish That Of Mr. Would Follow Them.
Forever
Political
Honor
I Should . . . Prefer Swallowing One Incomprehensibility Rather Than Two. It Requires One Effort Only To Admit The Single Incomprehensibility Of Matter Endowed With Thought, And Two To Believe, First That Of An Existence Called Spirit, Of Which We Have Neither Evidence Nor Idea, And Then Secondly How That Spirit, Which Has Neither Extension Nor Solidity, Can Put Material Organs Into Motion.
Believe
Ideas
Two
Were It Left To Me To Decide Whether We Should Have A Government Without Newspapers, Or Newspapers Without A Government, I Should Not Hesitate A Moment To Prefer The Latter. But I Should Mean That Every Man Should Receive Those Papers And Be Capable Of Reading Them.
Reading
Mean
Men
A Rigid Economy Of The Public Contributions And Absolute Interdiction Of All Useless Expenses Will Go Far Towards Keeping The Government Honest And Unoppressive.
Government
Useless
Honest
The Evils Of War Are Great In Their Endurance, And Have A Long Reckoning For Ages To Come.
War
Long
Evil
Having Always Observed That Public Works Are Much Less Advantageously Managed Than The Same Are By Private Hands, I Have Thought It Better For The Public To Go To Market For Whatever It Wants Which Is To Be Found There; For There Competition Brings It Down To The Minimum Value.
Hands
Competition
Want
Friendship Is But Another Name For An Alliance With The Follies And The Misfortunes Of Others. Our Own Share Of Miseries Is Sufficient: Why Enter Then As Volunteers Into Those Of Another?
Friendship
Names
Volunteer
Men By Their Constitutions Are Naturally Divided Into Two Parties: 1. Those Who Fear And Distrust The People, And Wish To Draw All Powers From Them Into The Hands Of The Higher Classes. 2. Those Who Identify Themselves With The People, Have Confidence In Them, Cherish And Consider Them As The Most Honest And Safe, Although Not The Most Wise Depositary Of The Public Interests. In Every Country These Two Parties Exist, And In Every One Where They Are Free To Think, Speak, And Write, They Will Declare Themselves.
Wise
Country
Party
Public Employment Contributes Neither To Advantage Nor Happiness. It Is But Honorable Exile From One's Family And Affairs.
Happiness
Employment
Affair
I Consider The Government Of The U.s. As Interdicted By The Constitution From Intermeddling With Religious Institutions, Their Doctrines, Discipline, Or Exercises.
Religious
Exercise
Government
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
We Must Train And Classify The Whole Of Our Male Citizens, And Make Military Instruction A Regular Part Of Collegiate Education.
Military
Males
Citizens
To Compel A Man To Furnish Contributions Of Money For The Propagation Of Opinions Which He Disbelieves And Abhors, Is Sinful And Tyrannical; . . . Even The Forcing Him To Support This Or That Teacher Of His Own Religious Persuasion, Is Depriving Him Of The Comfortable Liberty Of Giving His Contributions To The Particular Pastor Whose Morals He Would Make His Pattern. . . .
Teacher
Religious
Men
The Interests Of The States... Ought To Be Made Joint In Every Possible Instance In Order To Cultivate The Idea Of Our Being One Nation, And To Multiply The Instances In Which The People Shall Look Up To Congress As Their Head.
Ideas
Order
People
Every Man Cannot Have His Way In All Things. If His Opinion Prevails At Some Times, He Should Acquiesce On Seeing That Of Others Preponderate At Other Times. Without This Mutual Disposition We Are Disjointed Individuals, But Not A Society.
Men
Democracy
Way
The Way To Silence Religious Disputes Is To Take No Notice Of Them.
Religious
Silence
Religion
I Can Never Join Calvin In Addressing His God. He Was Indeed An Atheist, Which I Can Never Be; Or Rather His Religion Was Daemonism. If Ever Man Worshipped A False God, He Did.
Atheist
Men
Religion
I Hope We Shall Crush In Its Birth The Aristocracy Of Our Monied Corporations Which Dare Already To Challenge Our Government To A Trial By Strength, And Bid Defiance To The Laws Of Our Country.
Strength
Crush
Hope
The God Who Gave Us Life, Gave Us Liberty At The Same Time.
Life
Time
Godly
When Two Parties Make A Compact, There Results To Each A Power Of Compelling The Other To Execute It.
Party
Two
Results
No Generation Has A Right To Contract Debts Greater Than Can Be Paid Off During The Course Of Its Own Existence.
Money
Generations
Debt
No Man Shall Be Compelled To Frequent Or Support Any Religious Worship, Place, Or Ministry Whatsoever.
Religious
Father
Men
What Are The Objects Of An Useful American Education? Classical Knowlege, Modern Languages & Chiefly French, Spanish, & Italian; Mathematics; Natural Philosophy; Natural History; Civil History; Ethics.
Philosophy
Educational
Italian
Every Constitution..., And Every Law, Naturally Expires At The End Of 19 Years [a Generation]. If It Be Enforced Longer, It Is Anact Of Force, And Not Of Right.
Years
Law
Generations
As For What Is Not True, You Will Always Find Abundance In The Newspapers.
Abundance
Newspapers
True You
It Look Like The Lord Just Work For Wite Folks Cause Ever Sens I Wasn Nothin But A Litle Boy I Been On My On Haulin Water To The Fiel On That Ol Water Cart Wit All Them Dime Bukets An That Dipper Just Hittin An Old Dorthy Just Trottin And Trottin An Me Up Their Hittin Her Wit That Rope.
Boys
Water
Dying
Never Use One Word When Two Will Do.
Two
Use
One Word
Above All Things I Hope The Education Of The Common People Will Be Attended To; Convinced That On Their Good Sense We May Rely With Most Security For The Preservation Of A Due Degree Of Liberty.
Thank You
Education
Teacher
Perseverance In Object, Though Not By The Most Direct Way, Is Often More Laudable Than Perpetual Changes, As Often As The Object Shifts Light.
Perseverance
Light
Way
...in War, They Will Kill Some Of Us; We Shall Destroy All Of Them
War
That One Hundred And Fifty Lawyers Should Do Business Together Ought Not To Be Expected.
Law
Together
Fifty
The Parties Of Whig And Tory Are Those Of Nature. They Exist In All Countries, Whether Called By These Names Or By Those Of Aristocrats And Democrats, Cote Droite And Cote Gauche, Ultras And Radicals, Serviles And Liberals. The Sickly, Weakly, Timid Man Fears The People, And Is A Tory By Nature. The Healthy, Strong And Bold Cherishes Them, And Is Formed A Whig By Nature.
Country
Strong
Party
Force Is The Vital Principle And Immediate Parent Of Despotism.
War
Military
Parent
I Like The Power Given The Legislature To Levy Taxes, And For That Reason Solely Approve Of The Greater House Being Chosen By The People Directly.
People
House
Reason
What Justice Would There Be To Take This Life? Justice, Gentlemen? Why, I Would Just As Soon Put A Hog In The Electric Chair As This.
Justice
Gentleman
Dying
Truth Between Candid Minds Can Never Do Harm.
Truth
Political
Mind
There Is No Act, However Virtuous, For Which Ingenuity May Not Find Some Bad Motive.
President
May
Motive
Never Use Two Words When One Will Do.
Two
Use
Independence Can Be Trusted Nowhere But With The People In Mass. They Are Inherently Independent Of All But Moral Law.
Independent
Law
People
The Spirit Of 1776 Is Not Dead. It Has Only Been Slumbering. The Body Of The American People Is Substantially Republican. But Their Virtuous Feelings Have Been Played On By Some Fact With More Fiction; They Have Been The Dupes Of Artful Maneuvers, And Made For A Moment To Be Willing Instruments In Forging Chains For Themselves. But Times And Truth Dissipated The Delusion, And Opened Their Eyes.
Eye
People
Voting
The God Who Gave Us Life Gave Us Liberty. Can The Liberties Of A Nation Be Secure When We Have Removed A Conviction That These Liberties Are The Gift Of God?
Justice Of God
Liberty
Conviction
No Government Can Continue Good, But Under The Control Of The People.
Government
People
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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