[I]t seems that the Cannibals of Europe are going to eat one another again. A war between Russia and Turkey is like the battle of the kite and snake; whichever destroys the other, leaves a destroyer the less for the world.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the destructive nature of war and how it leads to mutual devastation.
Thomas Jefferson's quote suggests that conflicts between nations, like the one between Russia and Turkey, ultimately result in more harm than good. He illustrates this through the metaphor of a battle between a kite and a snake, emphasizing that even if one emerges victorious, the loss only contributes to a more dangerous world, highlighting the futility of such conflicts and the cyclical nature of violence among nations.
In practice
During a discussion on the implications of international conflicts in a speech.
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
We 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.
Life begins on the other side of despair.
We regard God as an airman regards his parachute; it's there for emergencies but he hopes he'll never have to use it.
The laws of chess do not permit a free choice: you have to move whether you like it or not.
Perhaps I seek certain utopian things, space for human honour and respect, landscapes not yet offended, planets that do not exist yet, dreamed landscapes.
The unformed is not worse than the over-formed. The former is nothing; the latter is mere appearance. Real form presupposes real life.
Just to the extent that the Bible was appealed to in matters of science, science was retarded; and just to the extent that science has been appealed to in matters of religion, religion has advanced - so that now the object of intelligent religionists is to adopt a creed that will bear the test and criticism of science.
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