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The Evils Which Of Necessity Encompass The Life Of Man Are Sufficiently Numerous. Why Should We Add To Them By Voluntarily Distressing And Destroying One Another? Peace, Brothers, Is Better Than War. In A Long And Bloody War, We Lose Many Friends, And Gain Nothing. Let Us Then Live In Peace And Friendship Together, Doing To Each Other All The Good We Can.
-Thomas Jefferson
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The Evils Which Of

Thomas Jefferson
The Evils Which Of Necessity Encompass The Life Of Man Are Sufficiently Numerous. Why Should We Add To Them By Voluntarily Distressing And Destroying One Another? Peace, Brothers, Is Better Than War. In A Long And Bloody War, We Lose Many Friends, And Gain Nothing. Let Us Then Live In Peace And Friendship Together, Doing To Each Other All The Good We Can.
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Peace
Brother
War
More From Thomas Jefferson
I Shall Rejoin Myself To My Native Country, With New Attachments, And With Exaggerated Esteem For Its Advantages; For Though There Is Less Wealth There, There Is More Freedom, More Ease, And Less Misery.
Country
Attachment
America
I Do Not Find In Orthodox Christianity One Redeeming Feature.
Atheist
Religion
President
Only A Government That Is Afraid Of Its Citizens Tries To Control Them.
Government
Trying
Citizens
Defend Our Liberties And Fashion Into One United People The Multitudes Brought Hither Out Of Many Kindred And Tongues.
Fashion
People
Liberty
Of Publishing A Book On Religion, My Dear Sir, I Never Had An Idea. I Should As Soon Think Of Writing For The Reformation Of Bedlam, As Of The World Of Religious Sects. Of These There Must Be, At Least, Ten Thousand, Every Individual Of Every One Of Which Believes All Wrong But His Own.
Religious
Book
Believe
Don't Talk About What You Have Done Or What You Are Going To Do.
Fidgeting
Done
Kindergarten
We Have Counted The Cost Of This Contest, And Find Nothing So Dreadful As Voluntary Slavery.-honor, Justice, And Humanity, Forbid Us Tamely To Surrender That Freedom Which We Received From Our Gallant Ancestors, And Which Our Innocent Posterity Have A Right To Receive From Us. We Cannot Endure The Infamy And Guilt Of Resigning Succeeding Generations To That Wretchedness Which Inevitably Awaits Them, If We Basely Entail Hereditary Bondage Upon Them.
Justice
Humanity
Honor
The History Of His Present Majesty, Is A History Of Unremitting Injuries And Usurpationsall Of Which Have In Direct Object The Establishment Of An Absolute Tyranny Over These States. To Prove This, Let Facts Be Submitted To A Candid World, For The Truth Of Which We Pledge A Faith Yet Unsullied By Falsehood.
World
Majesty
Facts
Our Tenet Ever Was . . . That Congress Had Not Unlimited Powers To Provide For The General Welfare, But Were Restrained To Those Specifically Enumerated; And That, As It Was Never Meant That They Should Provide For That Welfare But By The Exercise Of The Enumerated Powers, So It Could Not Have Been Meant They Should Raise Money For Purposes Which The Enumeration Did Not Place Under Their Action.
Exercise
Purpose
Action
Those Who Live By Mystery & Charlatanerie, Fearing You Would Render Them Useless By Simplifying The Christian Philosophy - The Most Sublime And Benevolent, But Most Perverted System That Ever Shone On Man - Endeavored To Crush Your Well-earned & Well-deserved Fame.
Atheist
Men
Insightful
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
We Owe Gratitude To France, Justice To England, Good Will To All, And Subservience To None ... It Was By The Sober Sense Of Our Citizens That We Were Safely And Steadily Conducted From Monarchy To Republicanism, And It Is By The Same Agency Alone We Can Be Kept From Falling Back.
Gratitude
Fall
Agency
A Superintending Power To Maintain The Universe In Its Course And Order.
Order
Courses
Universe
Whose Foot Is To Be The Measure To Which Ours Are All To Be Cut Or Stretched?
Cutting
Feet
Censorship
The Public School System: "usually A Twelve Year Sentence Of Mind Control. Crushing Creativity, Smashing Individualism, Encouraging Collectivism And Compromise, Destroying The Exercise Of Intellectual Inquiry, Twisting It Instead Into Meek Subservience To Authority." - Walter Karp, Editor Harper's Magazine The Ground Of Liberty Is To Be Gained By Inches, And We Must Be Contented To Secure What We Can Get From Time To Time And Eternally Press Forward For What Is Yet To Get. It Takes Time To Persuade Men To Do Even What Is For Their Own Good.
Crush
Creativity
School
I Recoil With Horror At The Ferociousness Of Man. Will Nations Never Devise A More Rational Umpire Of Differences Than Force? Are There No Means Of Coercing Injustice More Gratifying To Our Nature Than A Waste Of The Blood Of Thousands And Of The Labor Of Millions Of Our Fellow Creatures?
Mean
Men
Blood
Single Acts Of Tyranny May Be Ascribed To The Accidental Opinion Of The Day; But A Series Of Oppressions, Begun At A Distinguished Period, And Pursued Unalterably Through Every Change Of Ministers (adminstrators) Too Plainly Proves A Deliberate, Systematic Plan Of Reducing Us To Slavery.
Government
Liberty
Slavery
The Man Who Reads Nothing At All Is Better Educated Than The Man Who Reads Nothing But Newspapers.
Business
Book
Reading
By A Declaration Of Rights, I Mean One Which Shall Stipulate Freedom Of Religion, Freedom Of The Press, Freedom Of Commerce Against Monopolies, Trial By Juries In All Cases, No Suspensions Of The Habeas Corpus, No Standing Armies. These Are Fetters Against Doing Evil Which No Honest Government Should Decline.
Mean
Army
Rights
The Moral Sense Is As Much A Part Of Our Constitution As That Of Feeling, Seeing, Or Hearing.
Feelings
Religion
Liberty
That One Hundred And Fifty Lawyers Should Do Business Together Ought Not To Be Expected.
Law
Together
Fifty
Ridicule Is The Only Weapon Which Can Be Used Against Unintelligible Propositions. Ideas Must Be Distinct Before Reason Can Act Upon Them; And No Man Ever Had A Distinct Idea Of The Trinity. It Is The Mere Abracadabra Of The Mountebanks Calling Themselves The Priests Of Jesus.
Jesus
Men
Ideas
I Have Lived Temperately....i Double The Doctor's Recommendation Of A Glass And A Half Wine Each Day And Even Treble It With A Friend.
Food
Wine
Doctors
Rightful Liberty Is Unobstructed Action According To Our Will Within Limits Drawn Around Us By The Equal Rights Of Others. I Do Not Add 'within The Limits Of The Law' Because Law Is Often But The Tyrant's Will, And Always So When It Violates The Rights Of The Individual.
Wisdom
Law
Tyrants
The Possession Of Facts Is Knowledge; The Use Of Them Is Wisdom.
Wisdom
Use
Facts
Freedom [is] The First-born Daughter Of Science
Daughter
Firsts
Born
Subject Opinion To Coercion: Whom Will You Make Your Inquisitors? Fallible Men; Men Governed By Bad Passions, By Private As Well As Public Reasons. And Why Subject It To Coercion? To Produce Uniformity. But Is Uniformity Of Opinion Desirable? No More Than Of Face And Stature.
Religious
Passion
Men
When, In Short, We Shall Have Unlearned Everything Which Has Been Taught Since His [jesus'] Day, And Got Back To The Pure And Simple Doctrines He Inculcated, We Shall Then Be Truly And Worthily His Disciples: And My Opinion Is That If Nothing Had Ever Been Added To What Flowed Purely From His Lips, The Whole World Would At This Day Have Been Christian.
Christian
Jesus
Simple
It Is A Melancholy Truth, That A Suppression Of The Press Could Not More Completely Deprive The Nation Of Its Benefits Than Is Done By Its Abandoned Prostitution To Falsehood.
Done
Benefits
Melancholy
I Have Done For My Country And For All Mankind, All That I Could Do, And I Now Resign My Soul, Without Fear, To My God - My Daughter To My Country.
Daughter
Country
Soul
The Idea Is Quite Unfounded That On Entering Into Society We Give Up Any Natural Rights.
Giving Up
Rights
Ideas
The Cutting Of Heads Is Become So Much A La Mode, That One Is Apt To Feel Of A Morning Whether Their Own Is On Their Shoulders.
Morning
Cutting
Shoulders
Where Strictness Of Grammar Does Not Weaken Expression, It Should Be Attended To. . . . But Where, By Small Grammatical Negligences, The Energy Of An Idea Is Condensed, Or A Word Stands For A Sentence, I Hold Grammatical Rigor In Contempt.
Writing
Expression
Ideas
All Through Your Life, You'll Be Faced With Making A Decision Between Two Things-choose The One That Is Right. If They Are Both Right, Then Choose The One That Will Make You Feel The Best About It At The End Of The Day.
Leadership
Sports
Two
I See The Necessity Of Sacrificing Our Opinions Sometimes To The Opinions Of Others For The Sake Of Harmony.
Sacrifice
Politics
Sake
The Declaration Of Rights [bill Of Rights] Is, Like All Other Human Blessings, Alloyed With Some Inconveniences And Not Accomplishing Fully Its Object. But The Good In This Instance Vastly Outweighs The Evil.
Blessing
Rights
Evil
The General (federal) Government Will Tend To Monarchy, Which Will Fortify Itself From Day To Day, Instead Of Working Its Own Cures.
Government
Cures
Monarchy
Not Less Than Two Hours A Day Should Be Devoted To Exercise.
Exercise
Two
Endurance
It Is Time Enough, For The Rightful Purposes Of Civil Government, For Its Officers To Interfere [in The Propagation Of Religious Teachings] When Principles Break Out Into Overt Acts Against Peace And Good Order.
Religious
Teaching
Government
In The Legislature, The House Of Representatives Is Chosen By Less Than Half The People, And Not At All In Proportion To Those Who Do Choose. The Senate Are Still More Disproportionate, And For Long Terms Of Irresponsibility. In The Executive, The Governor Is Entirely Independent Of The Choice Of The People, And Of Their Control; His Council Equally So, And At Best But A Fifth Wheel To A Wagon. In The Judiciary, The Judges Of The Highest Courts Are Dependent On None But Themselves.
Independent
Long
People
The Application Requisite To The Duties Of The Office I Hold [governor Of Virginia] Is So Excessive, And The Execution Of Them After All So Imperfect, That I Have Determined To Retire From It At The Close Of The Present Campaign.
Retirement
Virginia
Office
We Are Not To Expect To Be Translated From Despotism To Liberty In A Featherbed.
Encouragement
Difficult And Easy
Political
The Purpose Of Government Is To Enable The People Of A Nation To Live In Safety And Happiness. Government Exists For The Interests Of The Governed, Not For The Governors.
Happiness
Government
People
The Bible Is The Cornerstone Of Liberty.
4th Of July
Liberty
Cornerstones
The Sun Has Not Caught Me In Bed In Fifty Years.
Funny
Life
Good Morning
Does The Government Fear Us? Or Do We Fear The Government? When The People Fear The Government, Tyranny Has Found Victory. The Federal Government Is Our Servant, Not Our Master!
Government
People
Southern
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. This Sense Is As Much A Part Of His Nature As The Sense Of Hearing, Seeing, Feeling; It Is The True Foundation Of Morality... The Moral Sense, Or Conscience, Is As Much A Part Of Man As His Leg Or Arm. It Is Given To All Human Beings In A Stronger Or Weaker Degree, As Force Of Members Is Given Them In A Greater Or Less Degree. It May Be Strengthened By Exercise, As May Any Particular Limb Of The Body.
Exercise
Men
Psychology
Ambition Is A Tricky Little Animal To Tame. It Is Very Skillful At Concealing Itself From Its Master.
Ambition
Animal
Littles
A Bill Of Rights Is What The People Are Entitled To Against Every Government, And What No Just Government Should Refuse, Or Rest On Inference.
Patriotic
Rights
Government
I Duly Acknowledge That I Have Gone Through A Long Life, With Fewer Circumstances Of Affliction Than Are The Lot Of Most Men. Uninterrupted Health, A Competence For Every Reasonable Want, Usefulness To My Fellow-citizens, A Good Portion Of Their Esteem, No Complaint Against The World Which Has Sufficiently Honored Me, And Above All, A Family Which Has Blessed Me By Their Affections, And Never By Their Conduct Given Me A Moment's Pain.
Pain
Blessed
Health
Among The Sayings And Discourses Imputed To Him (i.e. Jesus) By His Biographers, I Find Many Passages Of Fine Imagination, Correct Morality, And Of The Most Lovely Benevolence; And Others Again Of So Much Ignorance, So Much Absurdity, So Much Untruth, Charlatanism, And Imposture, As To Pronounce It Impossible That Such Contradictions Should Have Proceeded From The Same Being.
Religious
Jesus
Ignorance
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
All Persons Shall Have Full And Free Liberty Of Religious Opinion; Nor Shall Any Be Compelled To Frequent Or Maintain Any Religious Institution.
Religious
Liberty
Opinion
Each Generation Has A Right To Choose For Itself The Form Of Government It Believes Most Promotive Of Its Happiness.
Believe
Government
Generations
Victory And Defeat Are Each Of The Same Price.
Sports
Victory And Defeat
Victory Defeat
To Talk Of Immaterial Existences Is To Talk Of Nothings. To Say That The Human Soul, Angels, God, Are Immaterial, Is To Say They Are Nothings, Or That There Is No God, No Angels, No Soul. I Cannot Reason Otherwise: But I Believe I Am Supported In My Creed Of Materialism By Locke, Tracy, And Stewart. At What Age Of The Christian Church This Heresy Of Immaterialism, This Masked Atheism, Crept In, I Do Not Know. But Heresy It Certainly Is.
Christian
Religious
Atheist
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
The Clergy, By Getting Themselves Established By Law And In-grafted Into The Machine Of Government, Have Been A Very Formidable Engine Against The Civil And Religious Rights Of Man.
Religious
Men
Rights
May It Be To The World... To Assume The Blessings And Security Of Self-government.
Freedom
Blessing
Government
Government As Well As Religion Has Furnished Its Schisms, Its Persecutions And Its Devices For Fattening Idleness On The Earnings Of The People.
Government
People
Politics
It Is Surely Time For Men To Think For Themselves, And To Throw Off The Authority Of Names So Artificially Magnified.
Men
Thinking
Names
Certain Teachings In The Bible Are As Diamonds In A Dung-heap.
Religious
Teaching
Certain
By Oft Repeating An Untruth, Men Come To Believe It Themselves.
Believe
Men
Politics
It Is Highly Interesting To Our Country, And It Is The Duty Of Its Functionaries, To Provide That Every Citizen In It Should Receive An Education Proportioned To The Condition And Pursuits Of His Life.
Country
Interesting
Citizens
In A Government Bottomed On The Will Of All, The... Liberty Of Every Individual Citizen Becomes Interesting To All.
Freedom
4th Of July
Government
It Is The Old Practice Of Despots To Use A Part Of The People To Keep The Rest In Order.
Freedom
Order
Practice
A Society That Will Trade A Little Liberty For A Little Order Will Lose Both, And Deserve Neither.
Inspirational
Success
Order
Nature Intended Me For The Tranquil Pursuits Of Science, By Rendering Them My Supreme Delight. But The Enormities Of The Times In Which I Have Lived, Have Forced Me To Take A Part In Resisting Them, And To Commit Myself On The Boisterous Ocean Of Political Passions.
Ocean
Passion
Commitment
Was The Government To Prescribe To Us Our Medicine And Diet, Our Bodies Would Be In Such Keeping As Our Souls Are Now.
Rights
Government
Medicine
Preach, My Dear Sir, A Crusade Against Ignorance; Establish & Improve The Law For Educating The Common People.
Wisdom
Educational
Ignorance
There Are Two Subjects, Indeed, Which I Shall Claim A Right To Further As Long As I Breathe: The Public Education, And The Sub-division Of Counties Into Wards. I Consider The Continuance Of Republican Government As Absolutely Hanging On These Two Hooks.
Education
Government
Two
The Juries Are Our Judges Of All Fact, And Of Law When They Choose It.
Law
Judging
Judgement
One Loves To Possess Arms, Though They Hope Never To Have Occasion For Them.
Love
Strength
Hope
Freedom Of Religion, Freedom Of The Press, Freedom Of Person Under Protection Of Habeas Corpus; And Trial By Juries Impartially Selected, These Principles Form The Bright Constellation Which Has Gone Before Us, And Guided Our Steps Through An Age Of Revolution And Reformation.
Freedom
Age
Trials
Good Humor Is One Of The Preservatives Of Our Peace And Tranquility.
Humor
Tranquility
Peace And Tranquility
In Every Free And Deliberating Society, There Must, From The Nature Of Man, Be Opposite Parties, And Violent Dissensions And Discords; And One Of These, For The Most Part, Must Prevail Over The Other For A Longer Or Shorter Time.
Party
Men
Opposites
The Man Who Would Choose Security Over Freedom Deserves Neither.
Freedom
Men
He Man
When Virtue Is Banished, Ambition Invades The Minds Of Those Who Are Disposed To Receive It, And Avarice Possesses The Whole Community. The Objects Of Their Desires Are Changed; What They Were Fond Of Before Has Become Indifferent; They Were Free While Under The Restraint Of Laws, But They Would Fain Now Be Free To Act Against Law.
Ambition
Law
Community
Why Suspend The Habeas Corpus In Insurrections And Rebellions? Examine The History Of England. See How Few Of The Cases Of The Suspension Of The Habeas Corpus Law Have Been Worthy Of That Suspension. They Have Been Either Real Treasons, Wherein The Parties Might As Well Have Been Charged At Once, Or Sham Plots, Where It Was Shameful They Should Ever Have Been Suspected. Yet For The Few Cases Wherein The Suspension Of The Habeas Corpus Has Done Real Good, That Operation Is Now Become Habitual And The Minds Of The Nation Almost Prepared To Live Under Its Constant Suspension.
Real
Party
Government
I Advance It Therefore As A Suspicion Only, That The Blacks, Whether Originally A Distinct Race, Or Made Distinct By Time And Circumstances, Are Inferior To The Whites In The Endowments Of Both Body And Mind.
Race
Racism
Mind
For Heaven's Sake Discard The Monstrous Wig Which Makes The English Judges Look Like Rats Peeping Through Bunches Of Oakum.
Judging
Heaven
Looks
Take Painsto Write A Neat Round, Plain Hand, And You Will Find It A Great Convenience Through Life To Write A Small And Compact Hand As Well As A Fair And Legible One.
Writing
Hands
Convenience
If There Be Any Among Us Who Wish To Dissolve The Union Or To Change Its Republican Form, Let Them Stand Undisturbed, As Monuments Of The Safety With Which Error Of Opinion May Be Tolerated Where Reason Is Left Free To Combat It.
Change
Errors
Safety
If You Have To Eat Crow, Eat It While It's Young And Tender.
Motivational
Wisdom
Crow
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.
Law
Principles
Morality
When Once A Republic Is Corrupted, There Is No Possibility Of Remedying Any Of The Growing Evils But By Removing The Corruption And Restoring Its Lost Principles; Every Other Correction Is Either Useless Or A New Evil.
Evil
Voting
Principles
By Nature's Law, Every Man Has A Right To Seize And Retake By Force His Own Property Taken From Him By Another, By Force Of Fraud. Nor Is This Natural Right Among The First Which Is Taken Into The Hands Of Regular Government After It Is Instituted. It Was Long Retained By Our Ancestors. It Was A Part Of Their Common Law, Laid Down In Their Books, Recognized By All The Authorities, And Regulated As To Circumstances Of Practice.
Book
Taken
Men
To Take A Single Step Beyond The Text Would Be To Take Possession Of A Boundless Field Of Power.
Would Be
Fields
Steps
I Feel A Much Greater Interest In Knowing What Has Passed Two Or Three Thousand Years Ago, Than In What Is Now Passing. I Read Nothing, Therefore, But Of The Heroes Of Troy, ... Of Pompey And Caesar, And Of Augustus Too.
Hero
Two
Knowing
With Respect To Our State And Federal Governments, I Do Not Think Their Relations Correctly Understood By Foreigners. They Generally Suppose The Former Subordinate To The Latter. But This Is Not The Case. They Are Co-ordinate Departments Of One Simple And Integral Whole.
Thinking
Simple
Government
The Ultimate Arbiter Is The People Of The Union.
People
Unions
Arbiter
The Way To Silence Religious Disputes Is To Take No Notice Of Them.
Religious
Silence
Religion
Whenever The People Are Well Informed, They Can Be Trusted With Their Own Government; That Whenever Things Get So Far Wrong As To Attract Their Notice, They May Be Relied On To Set Them To Rights.
Trust
Rights
Government
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.
Men
Liberty
Pedestal
Every Man Is Under The Natural Duty Of Contributing To The Necessities Of The Society; And This Is All The Laws Should Enforce On Him.
Men
Law
Civil Rights
My Affections Were First For My Own Country, Then, Generally, For All Mankind
Country
Patriotism
Firsts
The True Fountains Of Evidence [are] The Head And Heart Of Every Rational And Honest Man. It Is There Nature Has Written Her Moral Laws, And Where Every Man May Read Them For Himself.
Heart
Men
Law
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.
Country
Freedom
Mean
A Free Government Is Of All Others The Most Energetic.
Government
Energetic
Free Government
My Principle Is To Do Whatever Is Right, And Leave Consequences To Him Who Has The Disposal Of Them.
Principles
Consequence
No Man Will Labor For Himself Who Can Make Another Labor For Him.
Work
Men
Labor
Not Less Than Two Hours A Day Should Be Devoted To Exercise, And The Weather Shall Be Little Regarded. If The Body Is Feeble, The Mind Will Not Be Strong.
Strong
Exercise
Weather
No Government Can Continue Good, But Under The Control Of The People.
Government
People
Education Is Here Placed Among The Articles Of Public Care, Not That It Would Be Proposed To Take Its Ordinary Branches Out Of The Hands Of Private Enterprise, Which Manages So Much Better All The Concerns To Which It Is Equal, But A Public Institution Can Alone Supply Those Sciences Which, Though Rarely Called For, Are Yet Necessary To Complete The Circle, All The Parts Of Which Contribute To The Improvement Of The Country, And Some Of Them To Its Preservation.
Education
Country
Hands
Specie [gold And Silver Coin] Is The Most Perfect Medium Because It Will Preserve Its Own Level; Because, Having Intrinsic And Universal Value, It Can Never Die In Our Hands, And It Is The Surest Resource Of Reliance In Time Of War.
War
Hands
Perfect
The Suppression Of Unnecessary Offices, Of Useless Establishments And Expenses Enabled Us To Discontinue Our Internal Taxes. These Covering Our Land With Officers, And Opening Our Doors To Their Intrusions, Had Already Begun That Process Of Domiciliary Vexation Which, Once Entered, Is Scarcely To Be Restrained From Reaching Successively Every Article Of Produce And Property.
Doors
Land
Office
Still Less Let It Be Proposed That Our Properties Within Our Own Territories Shall Be Taxed Or Regulated By Any Power On Earth But Our Own.
Taxation
Earth
Territory
Where The Press Is Free And Every Man Able To Read, All Is Safe.
Men
President
Safe
Can The Liberties Of A Nation Be Thought Secure When We Have Remover Their Only Firm Basis, A Conviction In The Minds Of The People That These Liberties Are The Gift Of God? That They Are Not To Be Violated But With His Wrath? Indeed, I Tremble For My Country When I Reflect That God Is Just; That His Justice Cannot Sleep Forever.
Inspirational
Bible
God
I Am... For Freedom Of The Press, And Against All Violations Of The Constitution To Silence By Force And Not By Reason The Complaints Or Criticisms, Just Or Unjust, Of Our Citizens Against The Conduct Of Their Agents.
Silence
Political
Criticism
No Man Will Ever Carry Out Of The Presidency The Reputation Which Carried Him Into It.
Men
Political
Politics
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.
Men
Politics
Association
I Sincerely Wish You May Find It Convenient To Come Here. The Pleasure Of The Trip Will Be Less Than You Expect, But The Utility Greater. It Will Make You Adore Your Own Country, It's Soil, It's Climate, It's Equality, Liberty, Laws, People & Manners. My God! How Little Do My Countrymen Know.
Country
Law
People
Error Is To Be Pitied And Pardoned: It Is The Weakness Of Human Nature. But Vice Is A Foul Blemish, Not Pardonable In Any Character.
Character
Errors
Weakness
The Greatest Good We Can Do Our Country Is To Heal Its Party Divisions And Make Them One People.
Country
Party
People
Our [virginia's] Act For Freedom Of Religion Is Extremely Applauded. The Ambassadors And Ministers Of The Several Nations Of Europe Resident At This Court Have Asked Me Copies Of It To Send To Their Sovereigns, And It Is Inserted At Full Length In Several Books Now In The Press; Among Others, In The New Encyclopédie. I Think It Will Produce Considerable Good Even In Those Countries Where Ignorance, Superstition, Poverty And Oppression Of Body And Mind In Every Form, Are So Firmly Settled On The Mass Of The People, That Their Redemption From Them Can Never Be Hoped.
Country
Book
Ignorance
The Darker The Berry, The Sweeter The Juice.
Berries
Juice
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.
Nature
Strong
Men
I Can Never Fear That Things Will Go Far Wrong Where Common Sense Has Fair Play.
Play
Common Sense
Never Fear
We Have The Wolf By The Ears, And We Can Neither Hold Him, Nor Safely Let Him Go. Justice Is In One Scale, And Self-preservation In The Other.
Self
Justice
Ears
In A Republican Nation Whose Citizens Are To Be Led By Reason And Persuasion And Not By Force, The Art Of Reasoning Becomes Of First Importance.... Reason And Persuasion Are The Only Practicable Instruments. To Make Way For These, Free Inquiry Must Be Indulged.... Let Them Take Arms. The Remedy Is To Set Them Right As To The Facts, Pardon And Pacify Them.
Art
Citizens
Inquiry
The Only Foundation For Useful Education In A Republic Is To Be Laid In Religion.
Education
Foundation
Republic
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...
Christian
Kings
War
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.... Do Not Be Frightened From This Inquiry From Any Fear Of Its Consequences. If It Ends In The Belief That There Is No God, You Will Find Incitements To Virtue In The Comfort And Pleasantness You Feel In Its Exercise.
Exercise
Liberty
Comfort
If We Are Made In Some Degree For Others, Yet In A Greater Are We Made For Ourselves.
Happiness
Degrees
Made
The Diffusion Of Information And The Arraignment Of All Abuses At The Bar Of Public Reason, I Deem [one Of] The Essential Principles Of Our Government, And Consequently [one Of] Those Which Ought To Shape Its Administration.
Government
Abuse
Principles
I Have Ever Judged Of The Religion Of Others By Their Lives. For It Is In Our Lives, And Not From Our Works, That Our Religion Must Be Read.
Spirituality
Our Lives
Judged
It Is While We Are Young That The Habit Of Industry Is Formed. If Not Then, It Never Is Afterwards. The Fortune Of Our Lives Therefore Depends On Employing Well The Short Period Of Our Youth.
Work
Youth
Habit
Unless The Mass Retains Sufficient Control Over Those Entrusted With The Powers Of Their Government, These Will Be Perverted To Their Own Oppression, And To The Perpetuation Of Wealth And Power In The Individuals And Their Families Selected For The Trust.
Government
Wealth
Oppression
We Love And We Value Peace; We Know Its Blessings From Experience. We Abhor The Follies Of War, And Are Not Untried In Its Distresses And Calamities.
Peace
War
Blessing
We Are The Friends Of Liberty Everywhere, But The Guarrantors Of Only Our Own.
Liberty
Every Society Has A Right To Fix The Fundamental Principles Of Its Association, And To Say To All Individuals, That If They Contemplate Pursuits Beyond The Limits Of These Principles And Involving Dangers Which The Society Chooses To Avoid, They Must Go Somewhere Else For Their Exercise; That We Want No Citizens, And Still Less Ephemeral And Pseudo-citizens, On Such Terms. We May Exclude Them From Our Territory, As We Do Persons Infected With Disease.
Exercise
Somewhere Else
Principles
The Sheep Are Happier Of Themselves, Than Under The Care Of Wolves.
Sheep
Government
Care
The People Of Every Country Are The Only Safe Guardians Of Their Own Rights.
Country
Rights
People
Anarchy [is] Necessarily Consequent To Inefficiency.
Politics
Anarchy
Inefficiency
Being Myself A Warm Zealot For The Attainment & Enjoiment By All Mankind Of As Much Liberty As Each May Exercise Without Injury To The Equal Liberty Of His Fellow Citizens, I Have Lamented That In France The Endeavors To Obtain This Should Have Been Attended With The Effusion Of So Much Blood.
Exercise
Blood
Should Have
My Passion Strengthens Daily To Quit Political Turmoil, And Retire Into The Bosom Of My Family, The Only Scene Of Sincere And Purehappiness.
Happiness
Passion
Political
If Once The People Become Inattentive To The Public Affairs, You And I, And Congress And Assemblies, Judges And Governors, Shall All Become Wolves. It Seems To Be The Law Of Our General Nature, In Spite Of Individual Exceptions.
Law
Tyrants
People
The Error Seems Not Sufficiently Eradicated, That The Operations Of The Mind, As Well As The Acts Of The Body, Are Subject To The Coercion Of The Laws. But Our Rulers Can Have Authority Over Such Natural Rights Only As We Have Submitted To Them. The Rights Of Conscience We Never Submitted, We Could Not Submit. We Are Answerable For Them To Our God. The Legitimate Powers Of Government Extend To Such Acts Only As Are Injurious To Others.
Government
Law
Errors
It Must Be Observed That Our Revenues Are Raised Almost Wholly On Imported Goods.
Taxation
Goods
Revenue
Millions Of Innocent Men, Women And Children, Since The Introduction Of Christianity, Have Been Burnt, Tortured, Fined And Imprisoned; Yet We Have Not Advanced One Inch Towards Uniformity. What Has Been The Effect Of Coercion? To Make One Half The World Fools, And The Other Half Hypocrites. To Support Roguery And Error All Over The Earth.
Religious
Children
Hypocrite
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
The Office Of Reformer Of The Superstitions Of A Nation Is Ever Dangerous.
Faith Religion
Office
Superstitions
That Paper Money Has Some Advantages Is Admitted. But That Its Abuses Also Are Inevitable And, By Breaking Up The Measure Of Value, Makes A Lottery Of All Private Property, Cannot Be Denied.
Abuse
Investing
Paper
I Was Much An Enemy To Monarchies Before I Came To Europe. I Am Ten Thousand Times More So, Since I Have Seen What They Are. There Is Scarcely An Evil Known In These Countries, Which May Not Be Traced To Their King, As Its Source, Nor A Good, Which Is Not Derived From The Small Fibres Of Republicanism Existing Among Them.
Country
Kings
Europe
Taxes Should Be Proportioned To What May Be Annually Spared By The Individual.
Taxation
May
Individual
I Do Not Know Whether You Are Fond Of Chemical Reading. There Are Some Things In This Science Worth Reading.
Reading
Science
Chemistry
...we Are All Federalists,and We Are All Republicans.
Republican
Federalist
It Is Too Late In The Day For Men Of Sincerity To Pretend They Believe In The Platonic Mysticisms That Three Are One, And One Is Three; And Yet That The One Is Not Three, And The Three Are Not One.
Religious
Believe
Men
Fix Reason Firmly In Her Seat, And Call On Her Tribunal For Every Fact, Every Opinion. Question With Boldness Even The Existence Of A God
Religious
Atheist
Faith Religion
Of Distinction By Birth Or Badge, [americans] Had No More Idea Than They Had Of The Mode Of Existence In The Moon Or Planets. They Had Heard Only That There Were Such, And Knew That They Must Be Wrong.
Moon
Ideas
Inalienable Rights
I Would Rather Have Newspapers Without A Government Than A Government Without Newspapers.
Government
Newspapers
The Power Of Making War Often Prevents It, And In Our Case Would Give Efficacy To Our Desire Of Peace.
War
Giving
Desire
I Sincerely Congratulate You On The Arrival Of The Mockingbird. Learn All The Children To Venerate It As A Superior Being In The Form Of A Bird, Or As A Being Which Will Haunt Them If Any Harm Is Done To Itself Or Its Eggs.
Children
Learning
Eggs
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
A Mind Always Employed Is Always Happy.
Labor Day
Mind
May Day
Had Not A Conviction Of The Danger To Which An Unlimited Occupation Of The Executive Chair Would Expose The Republican Constitution Of Our Government, Made It Conscientiously A Duty To Retire When I Did, The Fear Of Becoming A Dotard And Of Being Insensible Of It, Would Of Itself Have Resisted All Solicitations To Remain.
Government
Occupation
Becoming
I Am A Sect By Myself, As Far As I Know.
Knows
Sects
Every Man Has A Commission To Admonish, Exhort, Convince Another Of Error.
Men
Errors
Politics
I Wish I Was A Despot That I Might Save The Noble, The Beautiful Trees That Are Daily Falling Sacrifice To The Cupidity Of Their Owners, Or The Necessity Of The Poor. The Unnecessary Felling Of A Tree, Perhaps The Growth Of Centuries, Seems To Me A Crime Little Short Of Murder.
Beautiful
Fall
Sacrifice
The Genius Of Architecture Seems To Have Shed Its Maledictions Over This Land.
Land
Genius
Architecture
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.
Slides
Sin
Repentance
The Small Landholders Are The Most Precious Part Of A State.
Farming
States
Farmers
The Sovereign Invigorator Of The Body Is Exercise, And Of All The Exercises Walking Is The Best.
Motivational
Fitness
Health
Nothing Is So Disgusting To Our Sex As Want Of Cleanliness And Delicacy In Yours.
Sex
Delicacy
Want
It Is Neither Wealth Nor Splendor; But Tranquility And Occupation Which Give You Happiness.
Life
Happiness
Work
It Is Not To Be Understood That I Am With Him (jesus Christ) In All His Doctrines. I Am A Materialist; He Takes The Side Of Spiritualism; He Preaches The Efficacy Of Repentance Toward Forgiveness Of Sin; I Require A Counterpoise Of Good Works To Redeem It.
Jesus
Sides
Doctrine
An Elective Despotism Was Not The Government We Fought For, But One Which Should Not Only Be Founded On True Free Principles, But In Which The Powers Of Government Should Be So Divided And Balanced Among General Bodies Of Magistracy, As That No One Could Transcend Their Legal Limits Without Being Effectually Checked And Restrained By The Others.
Government
Liberty
Principles
A Determination Never To Do What Is Wrong, Prudence, And Good-humor, Will Go Far Toward Securing To You The Estimation Of The World.
Determination
World
Prudence
It Is As Useless To Argue With Those Who Have Renounced The Use Of Reason As To Administer Medication To The Dead.
Use
Arguing
Reason
Walking Is The Best Possible Exercise. Habituate Yourself To Walk Very Far.
Fitness
Exercise
Walks
The Doctrines Of Jesus Are Simple And Tend All To The Happiness Of Man, That There Is Only One God And God Is Perfect. That God And Man Are One. That To Love God With All Your Heart, And Your Neighbor As Yourself, Is The Sum Of Religion. These Are The Great Points On Which I Endeavor To Reform And Live My Life.
Jesus
Heart
Simple
Among The Most Inestimable Of Our Blessings Is That ... Of Liberty To Worship Our Creator In The Way We Think Most Agreeable To His Will; A Liberty Deemed In Other Countries Incompatible With Good Government And Yet Proved By Our Experience To Be Its Best Support.
Country
Religious
Thinking
Against Us Are All Timid Men Who Prefer The Calm Of Despotism To The Boisterous Sea Of Liberty We Are Likely To Preserve The Liberty We Have Obtained Only By Unremitting Labors And Perils.
Men
Sea
Liberty
The Cement Of This Union Is In The Heart Blood Of Every American. I Do Not Believe There Is On Earth A Government Established On So Immovable A Basis.
Believe
Heart
Government
A Great Deal Of Love Given To A Few Is Better Than A Little To Many.
Love
Littles
Given
Of The Various Executive Abilities, No One Excited More Anxious Concern Than That Of Placing The Interests Of Our Fellow-citizens In The Hands Of Honest Men, With Understanding Sufficient For Their Stations. No Duty Is At The Same Time More Difficult To Fulfil. The Knowledge Of Character Possessed By A Single Individual Is Of Necessity Limited. To Seek Out The Best Through The Whole Union, We Must Resort To The Information Which From The Best Of Men, Acting Disinterestedly And With The Purest Motives, Is Sometimes Incorrect.
Honesty
Character
Men
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.
Wisdom
Land
Community
No People Can Be Both Ignorant And Free.
People
Ignorant
The Rational And Peaceable Instrument Of Reform, The Suffrage Of The People.
People
Voting
Reform
If The Freedom Of Religion, Guaranteed To Us By Law In Theory, Can Ever Rise In Practice Under The Overbearing Inquisition Of Public Opinion, [then And Only Then Will Truth]prevail Over Fanaticism.
Law
Practice
Public Opinion
Wisdom I Know Is Social. She Seeks Her Fellows. But Beauty Is Jealous, And Illy Bears The Presence Of A Rival.
Jealousy
Rivals
Bears
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
Should Look Forward To A Time, And That Not A Distant One, When Corruption In This, As In The Country From Which We Derive Our Origin, Will Have Seized The Heads Of Government, And Be Spread By Them Through The Body Of The People; When They Will Purchase The Voices Of The People, And Make Them Pay The Price.
Country
Pay The Price
Government
Our Judges Are As Honest As Other Men And Not More So. They Have, With Others, The Same Passions For Party, For Power, And The Privilege Of Their Corps.
Party
Passion
Men
Knowledge Is Power...knowled Ge Is Safety...knowle Dge Is Happiness.
Safety
Knowledge Is Power
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
It Should Be Remembered, As An Axiom Of Eternal Truth In Politics, That Whatever Power In Any Government Is Independent, Is Absolute Also.
Independent
Government
Should
Those Who Labor In The Earth Are The Chosen People Of God.
Garden
People
Earth
Ignorance Of The Law Is No Excuse In Any Country. If It Were, The Laws Would Lose Their Effect, Because It Can Always Be Pretended.
Country
Ignorance
Law
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.
Art
Rights
Giving
This Interesting Subject, Which, If The Condition Of Man Is To Be Progressively Ameliorated, As We Fondly Hope And Believe, Is To Be The Chief Instrument In Effecting It.
Educational
Believe
Men
Nothing Is More Incumbent On The Old Than To Know When They Should Get Out Of The Way And Relinquish To Younger Successors The Honors They Can No Longer Earn, And The Duties They Can No Longer Perform.
Honor
Way
Should
Men Fight For Freedom; Then They Begin To Accumulate Laws To Take It Away From Themselves.
Freedom
Fighting
Men
I Have Ever Judged Of The Religion Of Others By Their Lives... But This Does Not Satisfy The Priesthood. They Must Have A Positive, A Declared Assent To All Of Their Interested Absurdities. My Opinion Is That There Would Never Have Been An Infidel, If There Had Never Been A Priest.
Religion
Atheism
Doe
Christian Creeds And Doctrines, The Clergy's Own Fatal Inventions, Through All The Ages Has Made Of Christendom A Slaughterhouse, And Divided It Into Sects Of Inextinguishable Hatred For One Another.
Christian
Hatred
Religion
It Will Be Said That Great Societies Cannot Exist Without Government.
Government
Politics
Said
The Government Created By This Compact Was Not Made The Exclusive Or Final Judge Of The Extent Of The Powers Delegated To Itself; Since That Would Have Made Its Discretion, And Not The Constitution, The Measure Of Its Powers.
Government
Judging
Finals
The Smell Rewards The Care.
Smell
Care
Rewards
Those Who Wish To Be Ignorant And Free, Believe In Something That Never Was And Never Shall Be.
Believe
Ignorant
Wish
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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