[Emigrants] will bring with them the principles of the governments they leave, imbibed in their early youth; or, if able to throw off, it will be in exchange for an unbounded licentiousness, passing, as is usual, from one extreme to another. It would be a miracle were they to stop precisely at the point of temperate liberty.
Interpretation
Emigrants carry their past experiences and beliefs, which can lead to extremes in behavior as they adapt to new freedoms.
This quote by Thomas Jefferson reflects on the challenges faced by emigrants who bring their governance principles and beliefs from their homeland. Jefferson suggests that such individuals might either embrace these principles in their new environment or swing to the opposite extreme, losing restraint in their newfound liberty. The quote underscores the complexity of change and adaptation, hinting at the difficulty of finding a balanced approach to freedom.
In practice
In a speech about immigration, one could reference this quote to emphasize the complexities faced by those who seek freedom in new lands.
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.
Know thyself? If I knew myself I would run away.
But if nothing but soul, or in soul mind, is qualified to count, it is impossible for there to be time unless there is soul, but only that of which time is an attribute, i.e. if change can exist without soul.
Corruption is worse than prostitution. The latter might endanger the morals of an individual, the former invariably endangers the morals of the entire country.
For all sad words of tongue and pen, The saddest are these, 'It might have been'.
Vengeance comes from the individual and punishment from God.
On the human imagination, events produce the effects of time. Thus, he who has travelled far and seen much, is apt to fancy that he has lived long; and the history that most abounds in important incidents, soonest assumes the aspect of antiquity.
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