Background Image
Truth Will Do Well Enough If Left To Shift For Herself. She Seldom Has Received Much Aid From The Power Of Great Men To Whom She Is Rarely Known And Seldom Welcome. She Has No Need Of Force To Procure Entrance Into The Minds Of Men.
-Thomas Jefferson
Please Wait....
Translating....

Truth Will Do Well

Thomas Jefferson
Truth Will Do Well Enough If Left To Shift For Herself. She Seldom Has Received Much Aid From The Power Of Great Men To Whom She Is Rarely Known And Seldom Welcome. She Has No Need Of Force To Procure Entrance Into The Minds Of Men.
Views: 6465
Topic
Men
Mind
Needs
More From Thomas Jefferson
Experience Having Long Taught Me The Reasonableness Of Mutual Sacrifices Of Opinion Among Those Who Are To Act Together For Any Common Object, And The Expediency Of Doing What Good We Can; When We Cannot Do All We Would Wish.
Sacrifice
Long
Wish
We Are Not Immortal Ourselves, My Friend; How Can We Expect Our Enjoyments To Be So? We Have No Rose Without Its Thorn; No Pleasure Without Alloy. It Is The Law Of Our Existence; And We Must Acquiesce.
Law
Rose
Pleasure
It Is A Cruel Thought, That, When We Feel Ourselves Standing On The Firmest Ground In Every Respect, The Cursed Arts Of Our Secret Enemies, Combining With Other Causes, Should Effect, By Depreciating Our Money, What The Open Arms Of A Powerful Enemy Could Not.
Art
Powerful
Enemy
I Do Not Like [in The New Federal Constitution] The Omission Of A Bill Of Rights Providing Clearly And Without The Aid Of Sophisms For... Protection Against Standing Armies
Army
Rights
Omission
Ours Are The Only Farmers Who Can Read Homer
Educational
Farmers
Let Those Flatter Who Fear; It Is Not An American Art .
Art
Flattery
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.
Rights
Government
People
Having Labored Faithfully In Establishing The Right Of Self-government, We See In The Rising Generation, Into Whose Hands It Is Passing, That Purity Of Principle And Energy Of Character Which Will Protect And Preserve It Through Their Day, And Deliver It Over To Their Sons As They Receive It From Their Fathers.
Father
Character
Son
The Sun Of Her [great Britain] Glory Is Fast Descending To The Horizon. Her Philosophy Has Crossed The Channel, Her Freedom The Atlantic, And Herself Seems Passing To That Awful Dissolution, Whose Issue Is Not Given Human Foresight To Scan.
Philosophy
Issues
Horizon
The Moral Sense Is The First Excellence Of Well-organized Man.
Men
Excellence
Firsts
Let Our Countrymen Know That The People Alone Can Protect Us Against These Evils Of Misgovernment.
People
Evil
Protect
Men Of Quality Are Not Threatened By Women Of Equality
Equality
Men
Quality
Questions Of Natural Right Are Triable By Their Conformity With The Moral Sense And Reason Of Man.
Men
Inalienable Rights
Moral
[f]alsehood Of The Tongue Leads To That Of The Heart, And In Time Depraves All Its Good Dispositions.
Heart
President
Tongue
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.
Honesty
Taken
Blood
The Christian God Can Easily Be Pictured As Virtually The Same God As The Many Ancient Gods Of Past Civilizations. The Christian God Is A Three Headed Monster Cruel Vengeful And Capricious. If One Wishes To Know More Of This Raging Three Headed Beast Like God One Only Needs To Look At The Caliber Of People Who Say They Serve Him. They Are Always Of Two Classes Fools And Hypocrites.
Christian
Atheist
Hypocrite
Confidence Is Everywhere The Parent Of Despotism. Free Government Is Founded In Jealousy, And Not In Confidence.
Government
Parent
Libertarian
Only Aim To Do Your Duty, And Mankind Will Give You Credit Where You Fail.
Failure
Government
Giving
I May Grow Rich By An Art I Am Compelled To Follow; I May Recover Health By Medicines I Am Compelled To Take Against My Own Judgment; But I Cannot Be Saved By A Worship I Disbelieve And Abhor.
Art
Medicine
Religion
We Must Endeavor To Forget Our Former Love For Them [the British] And To Hold Them, As We Hold The Rest Of Mankind, Enemies In War, In Peace Friends.
War
Enemy
Forget
My Views And Feelings (are) In Favor Of The Abolition Of War-and I Hope It Is Practicable, By Improving The Mind And Morals Of Society, To Lessen The Disposition To War; But Of Its Abolition I Despair.
Military
War
Views
Timid Men Prefer The Calm Of Despotism To The Tempestuous Sea Of Liberty.
Freedom
4th Of July
Men
But With Respect To Future Debt; Would It Not Be Wise And Just For That Nation To Declare In The Constitution They Are Forming That Neither The Legislature, Nor The Nation Itself Can Validly Contract More Debt, Than They May Pay Within Their Own Age, Or Within The Term Of 19 Years.
Wise
Government
Debt Free
A Lawyer Without Books Would Be Like A Workman Without Tools.
Book
Would Be
Tools
If We Can But Prevent The Government From Wasting The Labours Of The People, Under The Pretence Of Taking Care Of Them, They Must Become Happy.
Government
America
People
The Impious Presumption Of Legislators And Rulers, Civil As Well As Ecclesiastical, Who, Being Themselves But Fallible And Uninspired Men, Have Assumed Dominion Over The Faith Of Others, Setting Up Their Own Opinions And Modes Of Thinking As The Only True And Infallible, And As Such Endeavoring To Impose Them On Others, Hath Established And Maintained False Religions Over The Greatest Part Of The World And Through All Time.
Men
Thinking
Church
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
The Art Of Life Is The Art Of Avoiding Pain; And He Is The Best Pilot, Who Steers Clearest Of The Rocks And Shoals With Which It Is Beset.
Art
Pain
Rocks
For The Present We May Groupe The Sciences Into Professorships As Follows, Subject However To Be Changed According To The Qualifications Of The Persons We May Be Able To Engage.
Educational
May
Able
The Chief Purpose Of Government Is To Protect Life. Abandon That And You Have Abandoned All.
Government
Purpose
Abandoned
But Every Difference Of Opinion Is Not A Difference Of Principle.
Differences
Principles
Politics
The Qualifications For Self-government In Society Are Not Innate. They Are The Result Of Habit And Long Training.
Educational
Government
Self
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
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
Of All The Cankers Of Human Happiness None Corrodes With So Silent, Yet So Baneful An Influence, As Indolence.
Happiness
Influence
Silent
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
Common Sense Is The Foundation Of All Authorities, Of The Laws Themselves, And Of Their Construction.
Law
Common Sense
Foundation
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
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
To Preserve Our Independence, We Must Not Let Our Rulers Load Us With Perpetual Debt. We Must Make Our Election Between Economy And Liberty, Or Profusion And Servitude.
Government Debt
Independence
Liberty
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
For A People Who Are Free, And Who Mean To Remain So, A Well-organized And Armed Militia Is Their Best Security.
Military
Mean
Gun
Nature Intended Me For The Tranquil Pursuits Of Science By Rendering Them My Supreme Delight.
Boisterous
Delight
Pursuit
We Are Overdone With Banking Institutions, Which Have Banished The Precious Metals, And Substituted A More Fluctuating And Unsafe Medium... These Have Withdrawn Capital From Useful Improvements And Employments To Nourish Idleness... These Are Evils More Easily To Be Deplored Than Remedied.
Wisdom
Evil
Employment
[the Federal Convention] Is Really An Assembly Of Demigods.
Assembly
Demigods
Conventions
No Government Ought To Be Without Censors; And Where The Press Is Free No One Ever Will.
4th Of July
Media
Government
The Hocus-pocus Phantasm Of A God, Like Another Cerberus, With One Body And Three Heads, Had Its Birth And Growth In The Blood Of Thousands And Thousands Of Martyrs.
Religious
Faith Religion
Blood
I Never Considered A Difference Of Opinion In Politics, In Religion, In Philosophy, As Cause For Withdrawing From A Friend.
Friendship
Sad
Philosophy
The More A Subject Is Understood, The More Briefly It May Be Explained.
May
Understood
Subjects
No Government Should Be Without Critics. If Its Intentions Are Good Then It Has Nothing To Fear From Criticism.
Government
Criticism
Intention
As For What Is Not True, You Will Always Find Abundance In The Newspapers.
Abundance
Newspapers
True You
If By Religion We Are To Understand Sectarian Dogmas, In Which No Two Of Them Agree, Then Your Exclamation On That Hypothesis Is Just, "that This Would Be The Best Of Worlds If There Were No Religion In It.
Two
Would Be
World
Books May Be Classed From The Faculties Of The Mind
Educational
Book
Mind
No Man Will Ever Bring Out Of That Office The Reputation Which Carries Him Into It. The Honeymoon Would Be As Short In That Case As In Any Other, And Its Moments Of Ecstasy Would Be Ransomed By Years Of Torment And Hatred.
Men
Years
Office
We Never Repent Of Having Eaten Too Little.
Inspirational
Food
Weight Loss
This Ball Of Liberty, I Believe Most Piously, Is Now So Well In Motion That It Will Roll Round The Globe. At Least The Enlightened Part Of It, For Light & Liberty Go Together.
Believe
Light
Liberty
The Moral Sense Is As Much A Part Of Our Constitution As That Of Feeling, Seeing, Or Hearing.
Feelings
Religion
Liberty
[a]lthough A Republican Government Is Slow To Move, Yet When Once In Motion, Its Momentum Becomes Irresistible.
Moving
Government
Momentum
A Democratic Society Depends Upon An Informed And Educated Citizenry.
Library
Librarian
Democratic
Of All Exercises, Walking Is The Best.
Life
Exercise
Journey
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
I Concur With You Strictly In Your Opinion Of The Comparative Merits Of Atheism And Demonism, And Really See Nothing But The Latter In The Being Worshipped By Many Who Think Themselves Christians.
Christian
Thinking
Religion
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
No Man Will Labor For Himself Who Can Make Another Labor For Him.
Work
Men
Labor
The Objects Of This Primary Education . . . Would Be . . . To Form The Statesmen, Legislators And Judges, On Whom Public Prosperity And Individual Happiness Are So Much To Depend.
Education
Individual Happiness
Judging
Wine Brightens The Life And Thinking Of Anyone
Wine
Thinking
Wine And Life
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
I Believe That Every Human Mind Feels Pleasure In Doing Good To Another.
Happiness
Peace
Laughter
Trial By Jury Is Part Of The Bright Constellation Which Leads To Peace, Liberty And Safety.
Safety
Liberty
Trials
Preachers Dread The Advance Of Science As Witches Do The Approach Of Daylight.
Faith Religion
Daylight
Witch
I Am Not An Advocate For Frequent Changes In Laws And Constitutions, But Laws And Institutions Must Go Hand In Hand With The Progress Of The Human Mind.
Law
Hands
Mind
An Honest Heart Being The First Blessing, A Knowing Head Is The Second.
Heart
Blessing
Knowing
The Dead Should Not Rule The Living
Should
Certain Teachings In The Bible Are As Diamonds In A Dung-heap.
Religious
Teaching
Certain
Health Is The Requisite After Morality
Health
Morality
Do Not Neglect Your Music. It Will Be A Companion Which Will Sweeten Many Hours Of Life To You.
Music
Hours
Neglect
Leave No Authority Existing Not Responsible To The People.
People
Authority
Responsible
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.
Peace
Brother
War
A Private Central Bank Issuing The Public Currency Is A Greater Menace To The Liberties Of The People Than A Standing Army. We Must Not Let Our Rulers Load Us With Perpetual Debt.
Army
People
Liberty
My Affections Were First For My Own Country, Then, Generally, For All Mankind
Country
Patriotism
Firsts
I Hope The Necessity Will At Length Be Seen Of Establishing Institutions, Here As In Europe, Where Every Branch Of Science, Useful At This Day, May Be Taught In It's Highest Degrees.
Educational
Europe
Degrees
The Art Of Printing Secures Us Against The Retrogradation Of Reason And Information.
Art
Information
Civil Rights
I Think Our Governments Will Remain Virtuous For Many Centuries As Long As They Are Chiefly Agricultural; And This Will Be As Long As There Shall Be Vacant Lands In Any Part Of America. When They Get Piled Upon One Another In Large Cities As In Europe, They Will Become Corrupt As In Europe.
Thinking
Government
Europe
There Is... An Artificial Aristocracy Founded On Wealth And Birth, Without Either Virtue Or Talents... The Artificial Aristocracy Is A Mischievous Ingredient In Government, And Provision Should Be Made To Prevent Its Ascendency.
Government
Aristocracy
Ingredients
Force Is The Vital Principle And Immediate Parent Of Despotism.
War
Military
Parent
The Greatest Service Which Can Be Rendered Any Country Is To Add A Useful Plant To Its Culture. --the Fruit Hunters
Country
Garden
Hunters
It Is True That In The Meantime We Are Suffering Deeply In Spirit, And Incurring The Horrors Of A War And Long Oppressions Of Enormous Public Debt.
War
Long
Suffering
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
While The Farmer Holds The Title To The Land, Actually, It Belongs To All The People Because Civilization Itself Rests Upon The Soil.
Land
Civilization
People
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
The Day Will Come When The Mystical Generation Of Jesus, By The Supreme Being As His Father, In The Womb Of A Virgin, Will Be Classed With The Fable Of The Generation Of Minerva In The Brain Of Jupiter.
Religious
Jesus
Atheist
I Have Never Been Able To Conceive How Any Rational Being Could Propose Happiness To Himself From The Exercise Of Power Over Others.
Humility
Exercise
Power
No Man Will Ever Bring Out Of The Presidency The Reputation Which Carries Him Into It. To Myself, Personally, It Brings Nothing But Increasing Drudgery And Daily Loss Of Friends.
Friendship
Loss
Men
I Consider Ethics, As Well As Religion, As Supplements To Law In The Government Of Man.
Men
Law
Ethics
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
From Candlelight To Early Bedtime, I Read.
Book
Reading
Bedtime
Those Who Don’t Read The Newspapers Are Better Off Than Those Who Do Insofar As Those Who Know Nothing Are Better Off Than Those Whose Heads Are Filled With Half-truths And Lies.
Lying
Half
Newspapers
But Every Difference Of Opinion Is Not A Difference Of Principle. We Have Been Called By Different Names Brethren Of The Same Principle. We Are All Republicans, We Are All Federalists.
Names
Differences
Principles
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
Tobacco Is A Culture Productive Of Infinite Wretchedness.
President
Culture
Infinite
When We Consider How Much Climate Contributes To The Happiness Of Our Condition, By The Fine Sensation It Excites, And The Productions It Is The Parent Of, We Have Reason To Value Highly The Accident Of Birth In Such A One As That Of Virginia.
Virginia
Parent
Climate
Some Men Look At Constitutions With Sanctimonious Reverence, And Deem Them, Like The Ark Of The Covenant, Too Sacred To Be Touched. They Ascribe To The Men Of The Preceding Age A Wisdom More Than Human, And Suppose What They Did To Be Beyond Amendment. I Knew That Age Well; I Belonged To And Labored With It. It Deserved Well Of Its Country. It Was Very Like The Present, But Without The Experience Of The Present; And Forty Years Of Experience In Government Is Worth A Century Of Book-reading; And This They Would Say Themselves, Were They To Rise From The Dead.
Country
Book
Reading
To Your Request Of My Opinion Of The Manner In Which A Newspaper Should Be Conducted, So As To Be Most Useful, I Should Answer, "by Restraining It To True Facts & Sound Principles Only." Yet I Fear Such A Paper Would Find Few Subscribers. It Is A Melancholy Truth, That A Suppression Of The Press Could Not More Completely Deprive The Nation Of It's Benefits, Than Is Done By It's Abandoned Prostitution To Falsehood.
Media Control
Sound
Principles
While Old Men Feel Sensibly Enough Their Own Advance In Years, They Do Not Sufficiently Recollect It In Those Whom They Have Seenyoung.
Men
Years
Enough
In A Government Bottomed On The Will Of All, The... Liberty Of Every Individual Citizen Becomes Interesting To All.
Freedom
4th Of July
Government
The Right Of Self-government Does Not Comprehend The Government Of Others.
Government
Self
Doe
In Our Early Struggles For Liberty, Religious Freedom Could Not Fail To Become A Primary Object.
Religious
Struggle
Liberty
The Monopoly Of A Single Bank Is Certainly An Evil. The Multiplication Of Them Was Intended To Cure It; But It Multiplied An Influence Of The Same Character With The First, And Completed The Supplanting The Precious Metals By A Paper Circulation. Between Such Parties The Less We Meddle The Better.
Party
Character
Evil
From Breakfast, Or Noon At The Latest, To Dinner, I Am Mostly On Horseback, Attending To My Farm Or Other Concerns, Which I Find Healthful To My Body, Mind, And Affairs.
Agriculture
Mind
Noon
May It Be To The World... To Assume The Blessings And Security Of Self-government.
Freedom
Blessing
Government
Honesty, Disinterestedness And Good Nature Are Indispensable To Procure The Esteem And Confidence Of Those With Whom We Live, And On Whose Esteem Our Happiness Depends.
Confidence
Honesty
Good Nature
The Evils Of War Are Great In Their Endurance, And Have A Long Reckoning For Ages To Come.
War
Long
Evil
I Am A Christian In The Only Sense In Which He Wished Anyone To Be: Sincerely Attached To His Doctrines In Preference To All Others.
Christian
Doctrine
Preference
It Is An Essential Attribute Of The Jurisdiction Of Every Country To Preserve Peace, To Punish Acts In Breach Of It, And To Restore Property Taken By Force Within Its Limits.
Country
Taken
Limits
The Advertisement Is The Most Truthful Part Of A Newspaper.
Motivational
Truth
Humorous
The Opinions Of Men Should Not Be The Object Of Any Government. Our Civil Rights Are No More Dependent On Our Religious Beliefs Than They Are Dependent Upon Our Thoughts About Geometry Or Physics!
Religious
Men
Rights
I Never Submitted The Whole System Of My Opinions To The Creed Of Any Party Of Men Whatever, In Religion, In Philosophy, In Politics, Or In Anything Else, Where I Was Capable Of Thinking For Myself. Such An Addiction Is The Last Degradation Of A Free And Moral Agent. If I Could Not Go To Heaven But With A Party, I Would Not Go There At All.
Philosophy
Party
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
Time Indeed Changes Manners And Notions, And So Far We Must Expect Institutions To Bend To Them. But Time Produces Also Corruption Of Principles, And Against This It Is The Duty Of Good Citizens To Be Ever On The Watch, And If The Gangrene Is To Prevail At Last, Let The Day Be Kept Off As Long As Possible.
Long
Principles
Watches
A Room Without Books Is Like A Life Without Meaning.
Book
Rooms
Lovers
No Nation Is Permitted To Live In Ignorance With Impunity
Ignorance
Nigeria Independence
Impunity
I Deem It The Duty Of Every Man To Devote A Certain Portion Of His Income For Charitable Purposes; And That It Is His Further Duty To See It So Applied And To Do The Most Good For Which It Is Capable.
Men
Income
Purpose
It Is The Old Practice Of Despots To Use A Part Of The People To Keep The Rest In Order.
Freedom
Order
Practice
It Is A Moot Question Whether The Origin Of Any Kind Of Property Is Derived From Nature At All. It Is Agreed By Those Who Have Seriously Considered The Subject That No Individual Has, Of Natural Right, A Separate Property In An Acre Of Land, For Instance. By A Universal Law, Indeed, Whatever, Whether Fixed Or Movable, Belongs To All Men Equally And In Common Is The Property For The Moment Of Him Who Occupies It; But When He Relinquishes The Occupation, The Property Goes With It. Stable Ownership Is The Gift Of Social Law, And Is Given Late In The Progress Of Society.
Men
Progress Of Society
Law
If The Happiness Of The Mass Of Mankind 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.
Blood
Littles
Tempest
If We Believe That He [jesus Christ]really Countenanced The Follies, The Falsehoods, And The Charlatanisms, Which His Biographers [writers Of The New Testament]father Upon Him, And Admit The Misconstructions, Interpolations, And Theorizations Of The Fathers Of The Early And The Fanatics Of The Latter Ages, The Conclusion Would Be Irresistible By Every Sound Mind That He Was An Impostor.
Jesus
Father
Believe
The Genius Of Architecture Seems To Have Shed Its Maledictions Over This Land.
Land
Genius
Architecture
All Men Are Created Equal.
Men
Classic
Equal
The Human Character, We Believe, Requires In General Constant And Immediate Control To Prevent Its Being Biased From Right By The Seductions Of Self-love.
Believe
Character
Self
Any Woodsman Can Tell You That In A Broken And Sundered Nest, One Can Hardly Find More Than A Precious Few Whole Eggs. So It Is With The Family.
Father
Eggs
Broken
An Equal Application Of Law To Every Condition Of Man Is Fundamental.
Equality
Men
Law
I Have Sometimes Asked Myself Whether My Country Is The Better For My Having Lived At All? I Do Not Know That It Is. I Have Been The Instrument Of Doing The Following Things; But They Would Have Been Done By Others; Some Of Them, Perhaps, A Little Better.
Country
Done
Littles
If We Are To Guard Against Ignorance And Remain Free, It Is The Responsibility Of Every American To Be Informed.
Ignorance
Responsibility
Ifs
What Is It Men Cannot Be Made To Believe!
Honesty
Integrity
Believe
[t]he People Seem To Have Deposited The Monarchical And Taken Up The Republican Government With As Much Ease As Would Have Attended Their Throwing Off An Old And Putting On A New Suit Of Clothes.
Taken
Government
Clothes
What A Stupendous, What An Incomprehensible Machine Is Man! Who Can Endure Toil, Famine, Stripes, Imprisonment & Death Itself In Vindication Of His Own Liberty, And The Next Moment ... Inflict On His Fellow Men A Bondage, One Hour Of Which Is Fraught With More Misery Than Ages Of That Which He Rose In Rebellion To Oppose.
Men
Compassion
Rose
The Bulk Of Mankind Are Schoolboys Through Life.
Teaching
Mankind
It Is To Secure Our Rights That We Resort To Government At All.
Rights
Government
Resorts
I Find That He Is Happiest Of Whom The World Says Least, Good Or Bad.
Bad Relationship
Government
World
Never Put Off Your Massage Until Tomorrow If You Can Get It Today.
Today
Massage
Tomorrow
[if] The Nature Of ... Government [were] A Subordination Of The Civil To The Ecclesiastical Power, I [would] Consider It As Desperate For Long Years To Come. Their Steady Habits [will] Exclude The Advances Of Information, And They [will] Seem Exactly Where They [have Always Been]. And There [the] Clergy Will Always Keep Them If They Can. [they] Will Follow The Bark Of Liberty Only By The Help Of A Tow-rope.
Government
Years
Long
The Gothic Idea That We Were To Look Backwards Instead Of Forwards For The Improvement Of The Human Mind, And To Recur To The Annals Of Our Ancestors For What Is Most Perfect In Government, In Religion And In Learning, Is Worthy Of Those Bigots In Religion And Government By Whom It Has Been Recommended, And Whose Purposes It Would Answer. But It Is Not An Idea Which This Country Will Endure.
Country
Ideas
Government
I Could Think Of No Worse Example For Nations Abroad, Who For The First Time Were Trying To Put Free Electoral Procedures Into Effect, Than That Of The United States Wrangling Over The Results Of Our Presidential Election, And Even Suggesting That The Presidency Itself Could Be Stolen By Thievery At The Ballot Box.
Thinking
America
Presidential
The Elective Franchise, If Guarded As The Ark Of Our Safety, Will Peaceably Dissipate All Combinations To Subvert A Constitution, Dictated By The Wisdom, And Resting On The Will Of The People.
People
Safety
Voting
Peace With All Nations, And The Right Which That Gives Us With Respect To All Nations, Are Our Object.
Peace
Giving
Objects
I Am For Relying For Internal Defense On Our Militia Solely Till Actual Invasion, And For Such A Naval Force Only As May Protect Our Coasts And Harbors From Such Depredations As We Have Experienced; And Not For A Standing Army In Time Of Peace Which May Overawe The Public Sentiment; Nor For A Navy Which, By Its Own Expenses And The Eternal Wars In Which It Will Implicate Us, Will Grind Us With Public Burthens And Sink Us Under Them.
War
Army
Navy
Nothing Is Unchangeable But The Inherent And Unalienable Rights Of Man.
Men
Rights
Morality
I Hope We Shall Prove How Much Happier For Man The Quaker Policy Is, And That The Life Of The Feeder Is Better Than That Of The Fighter; And It Is Some Consolation That The Desolation By These Maniacs Of One Part Of The Earth Is The Means Of Improving It In Other Parts. Let The Latter Be Our Office, And Let Us Milk The Cow, While The Russian Holds Her By The Horns, And The Turk By The Tail.
Mean
Men
Office
Conquest Is Not In Our Principles. It Is Inconsistent With Our Government.
War
Government
Principles
I View Great Cities As Pestilential To The Morals, The Health And The Liberties Of Man. True, They Nourish Some Of The Elegant Arts; But The Useful Ones Can Thrive Elsewhere; And Less Perfection In The Others, With More Health, Virtue And Freedom, Would Be My Choice.
Art
Health
Men
Civil Officials Have No Business Meddling In Private Religious Affairs.
Religious
Religion
Atheism
Be Polite To All, But Intimate With Few.
Cynicism
Intimate
Polite
An Enemy Generally Says And Believes What He Wishes.
Believe
Reality
Political
We Confide In Our Strength, Without Boasting Of It, We Respect That Of Others, Without Fearing It.
Strength
Respect
Patriotic
Honesty Is The First Chapter In The Book Of Wisdom. Let It Be Our Endeavor To Merit The Character Of A Just Nation.
Honesty
Book
Character
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
Instead Of An Aristocracy Of Wealth, Of More Harm And Danger Than Benefit To Society, To Make An Opening For The Aristocracy Of Virtue And Talent, Which Nature Has Wisely Provided For The Direction Of The Interests Of Society And Scattered With Equal Hand Through All Its Conditions, Was Deemed Essential To A Well-ordered Republic.
Hands
Essentials
Aristocracy
I, Place Economy Among The First & Most Important Republican Virtues, & Public Debt As The Greatest Of The Dangers To Be Feared
Philosophy
Political
Important
How Much Pain They Have Cost Us, The Evils Which Have Never Happened.
Pain
Fear
Self Esteem
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
Every Gentleman Plays Billiards, But Someone Who Plays Billiards Too Well, Is No Gentleman.
Play
Gentleman
Billiards
All, Too, Will Bear In Mind This Sacred Principle, That Though The Will Of The Majority Is In All Cases To Prevail, That Will To Be Rightful Must Be Reasonable; That The Minority Possess Their Equal Rights, Which Equal Law Must Protect, And To Violate Would Be Oppression.
Freedom
Patriotic
Equality
Whiskey Claims To Itself Alone The Exclusive Office Of Sot-making.
Office
Whiskey
Claims
A Single Good Government Is A Blessing To The Whole Earth.
Blessing
Government
Liberty
A Free Government Is Of All Others The Most Energetic.
Government
Energetic
Free Government
The Spirit Of Resistance To Government Is So Valuable On Certain Occasions That I Wish It To Be Always Kept Alive.
Freedom
War
Patriotic
The Good Opinion Of Mankind, Like The Lever Of Archimedes, With The Given Fulcrum, Moves The World.
Moving
Public Opinion
World
There Is Not One Redeeming Feature In Our Superstition Of Christianity. It Has Made One Half The World Fools, And The Other Half Hypocrites.
Religious
Father
Hypocrite
There Is No Justification For Taking Away Individuals' Freedom In The Guise Of Public Safety.
Safety
Individual
Justification
Law Is Often The Tyrant's Will, And Always So When It Violates The Right Of An Individual.
Law
Tyrants
Inalienable Rights
Liberty Is The Great Parent Of Science And Of Virtue; And A Nation Will Be Great In Both In Proportion As It Is Free.
Freedom
4th Of July
Parent
Our Cause Is Just. Our Union Is Perfect. ... With Hearts Fortified ... We Most Solemnly, Before God And The World, Declare That... We Will, In Defiance Of Every Hazard, With Unabating Firmness And Perseverence, Employ For The Preservation Of Our Liberties; Being With One Mind Resolved To Die Freemen Rather Than To Live Slaves.
Heart
Perfect
Mind
I Consider The Foundation Of The Constitution As Laid On This Ground That 'all Powers Not Delegated To The United States, By The Constitution, Nor Prohibited By It To The States, Are Reserved To The States Or To The People.' To Take A Single Step Beyond The Boundaries Thus Specially Drawn Around The Powers Of Congress, Is To Take Possession Of A Boundless Field Of Power Not Longer Susceptible Of Any Definition.
Government
People
Fields
There Are Other Places At Which ... The Laws Have Said There Shall Be Towns; But Nature Has Said There Shall Not, And They Remain Unworthy Of Enumeration.
Law
Towns
Said
Of All The Errors Which Can Possibly Be Committed To The Education Of Youth, That Of Sending Them To Europe Is The Most Fatal. I See [clearly] That No American Should Come To Europe Under 30 Years Of Age.
Education
Errors
Years
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
The Smell Rewards The Care.
Smell
Care
Rewards
It Is Neither Wealth Nor Splendor; But Tranquility And Occupation Which Give You Happiness.
Life
Happiness
Work
The Multiplication Of Public Offices, Increase Of Expense Beyond Income, Growth And Entailment Of A Public Debt Are Indications Soliciting The Employment Of The Pruning Knife.
Knives
Government Debt
Office
In The Environment, Every Victory Is Temporary, Every Defeat Permanent.
Victory
Defeat
Environment
I Have Ever Deemed It More Honorable And More Profitable, Too, To Set A Good Example Than To Follow A Bad One.
Example
Honorable
Profitable
Walking Is The Best Possible Exercise. Habituate Yourself To Walk Very Far. The Europeans Value Themselves On Having Subdued The Horse To The Uses Of Man; But I Doubt Whether We Have Not Lost More Than We Have Gained, By The Use Of This Animal.
Horse
Exercise
Animal
The Time To Guard Against Corruption And Tyranny Is Before They Shall Have Gotten Hold Of Us. It Is Better To Keep The Wolf Out Of The Fold, Than To Trust To Drawing His Teeth And Talons After He Shall Have Entered.
Drawing
Teeth
Civil Rights
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
It Is My Principle That The Will Of The Majority Should Always Prevail.
Motivational
Democracy
Majority
I Have The Consolation Of Having Added Nothing To My Private Fortune During My Public Service, And Of Retiring With Hands Clean As They Are Empty.
Hands
Liberty
Empty
If We Could Believe That Jesus...countenanced The Follies, Falsehoods And Charlatanisms Which His Biographers Father On Him, ...the Conclusion Would Be Irresistible...that He Was An Imposter.
Jesus
Father
Believe
The Movements Of Nature Are In A Never Ending Circle. The Animal Species Which Has Once Been Put Into A Train Of Motion, Is Still Probably Moving In That Train. For If One Link In Nature's Chain Might Be Lost, Another And Another Might Be Lost, Till This Whole System Of Things Should Evanish By Piece-meal; A Conclusion Not Warranted By The Local Disappearance Of One Or Two Species Of Animals, And Opposed By The Thousands And Thousands Of Instances Of The Renovating Power Constantly Exercised By Nature For The Reproduction Of All Her Subjects, Animal, Vegetable, And Mineral.
Nature
Moving
Animal
The Advocate Of Religious Freedom Is To Expect Neither Peace Nor Forgiveness From [the Clergy].
Religious
Christianity
Clergy
The Power Of Making War Often Prevents It, And In Our Case Would Give Efficacy To Our Desire Of Peace.
War
Giving
Desire
If We Cannot Secure All Our Rights, Let Us Secure What We Can.
Rights
Law
Secure
The Trifling Economy Of Paper, As A Cheaper Medium, Or Its Convenience For Transmission, Weighs Nothing In Opposition To The Advantages Of The Precious Metals It Is Liable To Be Abused, Has Been, Is, And Forever Will Be Abused, In Every Country In Which It Is Permitted.
Country
Forever
Paper
If I Had To Choose Between Government Without Newspapers, And Newspapers Without Government, I Wouldn't Hesitate To Choose The Latter
Government
Newspapers
Latter
Truth Will Do Well Enough If Left To Shift For Herself. She Seldom Has Received Much Aid From The Power Of Great Men To Whom She Is Rarely Known And Seldom Welcome. She Has No Need Of Force To Procure Entrance Into The Minds Of Men.
Men
Mind
Needs
The Division Into Whig And Tory Is Founded In The Nature Of Men; The Weakly And Nerveless, The Rich And The Corrupt, Seeing More Safety And Accessibility In A Strong Executive; The Healthy, Firm, And Virtuous, Feeling Confidence In Their Physical And Moral Resources, And Willing To Part With Only So Much Power As Is Necessary For Their Good Government; And, Therefore, To Retain The Rest In The Hands Of The Many, The Division Will Substantially Be Into Whig And Tory.
Strong
Men
Hands
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
The Office Of Reformer Of The Superstitions Of A Nation Is Ever Dangerous.
Faith Religion
Office
Superstitions
The Example Of Changing A Constitution By Assembling The Wise Men Of The State, Instead Of Assembling Armies, Will Be Worth As Much To The World As The Former Examples We Had Give Them. The Constitution, Too, Which Was The Result Of Our Deliberation, Is Unquestionably The Wisest Ever Yet Presented To Men.
Wise
Army
Men
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
Were I To Commence My Administration Again, The First Question I Would Ask Respecting A Candidate Would Be, Does He Use Ardent Spirits?
Doe
Would Be
Use
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.


Trending Author
Margaret Sanger
Maria Sharapova
Pitbull
Rumi
Kelly Reilly
Billy Bush
Category
Information