I, place economy among the first & most important republican virtues, & public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared
Interpretation
Jefferson emphasizes the importance of economic prudence and warns against the dangers of public debt.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson highlights the value he places on economic responsibility within a republic. He considers a sound economy as a cornerstone of good governance while simultaneously warning that relying on public debt poses a significant threat to the nation's integrity and stability. This perspective underlines the belief that fiscal discipline is crucial for the prosperity and survival of a democratic society.
In practice
During a town hall meeting focused on budgeting and public finance, one might reference this quote to stress the importance of fiscal responsibility.
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.
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.
There is not a sprig of grass that shoots uninteresting to me.
I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself. I take the words. I scatter them... in time, and space. A message to lead myself here.
A myth is a lie that conveys a truth.
All these seven colors are part of one rainbow, yet they are all different. They have their own quality, their own identity, their own flavor to it. So it is a rainbow. The Divine loves diversity, that is why he made us all different.
You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve," said Aslan. "And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth. Be content.
In nature a repulsive caterpillar turns into a lovely butterfly. But with human beings it is the other way round: a lovely butterfly turns into a repulsive caterpillar.
Real freedom lies in wildness, not in civilization.
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