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.
Interpretation
Education is essential for public welfare, even if most education is better managed by private institutions.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson emphasizes the role of public education in serving the needs of society. He acknowledges that while private enterprise successfully handles many educational concerns, only public institutions can provide certain necessary sciences that contribute to the overall improvement and preservation of the country, highlighting the importance of a balanced educational system that addresses both common and specialized needs.
In practice
This quote could be used in a speech advocating for increased funding for public education.
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.
The great majority of Americans do not know much about Islam but nonetheless fear it as violent, expansionist and alien to their society. The problem to overcome is not hatred, but ignorance.
Read the Bible, read the Bible! Let no religious book take its place. Through all my perplexities and distresses, I seldom read any other book, and I as rarely felt the want of any other.
Honour your daughters, trust them and most importantly, educate them.
I was a very keen reader of science fiction, and during the time I was going to libraries, it was good, written by people who knew their science.
I love the ideals of my country. But I hate that we've been so denied any real knowledge of the world and don't have the education to think clearly, so we vote against our economic interest and believe in our most shallow first thoughts of fear and hatred.
After all manner of professors have done their best for us, the place we are to get knowledge is in books. The true university of these days is a collection of books.
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