[If a book were] very innocent, and one which might be confided to the reason of any man; not likely to be much read if let alone, but if persecuted, it will be generally read. Every man in the United States will think it a duty to buy a copy, in vindication of his right to buy and to read what he pleases.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of intellectual freedom and how censorship can increase interest in ideas.
Thomas Jefferson highlights the paradox of censorship: books that might otherwise remain unread gain attention when they are persecuted or banned. This response not only reflects the inherent human desire for freedom of thought but also encourages individuals to assert their rights by engaging with controversial works, underscoring the vital role of literature in fostering open discourse and critical thinking within society.
In practice
In a speech about the value of free speech, one might say, 'As Thomas Jefferson reminds us, persecution of ideas only fuels our desire to read and understand them.'
The firmness with which the (American) people have withstood the... abuses of the press, the discernment they have manifested between truth and falsehood, show that they may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false and to form a correct judgment between them.
I, place economy among the first & most important republican virtues, & public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared
βWe must make our choice between economy and liberty or confusion and servitude...If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and comforts, in our labor and in our amusements...if we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.
Very many and very meritorious were the worthy patriots who assisted in bringing back our government to its republican tack. To preserve it in that, will require unremitting vigilance.
A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society.
Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.
In order to learn, one must change one's mind.
The best way to get students involved in science and want to follow either science careers or incorporate it in their lives or to achieve science literacy is to expose them to the various jobs in STEM. It's broad from biologists to electricians to nanotechnologists to building fusion engines. It's a wide range of things.
The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant.
The reason I still work at this stage of life is because I enjoy learning something new each day.
The function of the university is not simply to teach breadwinning, or to furnish teachers for the public schools, or to be a centre of polite society; if is, above all, to be the organ of that fine adjustment between real life and the growing knowledge of life, an adjustment from which forms the secret of civilization.
Each time you learn something new you must readjust the whole framework of your knowledge
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