I think our governments will remain virtuous for many centuries as long as they are chiefly agricultural; and this will be as long as there shall be vacant lands in any part of America. When they get piled upon one another in large cities as in Europe, they will become corrupt as in Europe.
Interpretation
Jefferson argues that a primarily agricultural society promotes virtuous governance, while urbanization leads to corruption.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson reflects on the relationship between agricultural societies and the ethical quality of governance. He suggests that as long as a nation remains largely agrarian with access to vacant lands, its governments can maintain virtue and integrity. However, he warns that as populations concentrate in large cities, similar to those in Europe, they are likely to experience corruption and moral decline due to the complexities and challenges of urbanization.
In practice
In a speech about sustainable development, you could reference this quote to emphasize the importance of agricultural practices.
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.
A rabbit's foot may bring good luck to you, but it brought none to the rabbit.
Words bend our thinking to infinite paths of self-delusion, and the fact that we spend most of our mental lives in brain mansions built of words means that we lack the objectivity necessary to see the terrible distortion of reality which language brings.
I have seen the rise of fascism and communism. Both philosophies glorify the arbitrary power of the state... But both theories fail. Both deny those God-given liberties that are the inalienable right of each person on this planet, indeed, they deny the existence of God.
The fairest order in the world is a heap of random sweepings.
Remember and help America remember that the fellowship of human beings is more important than the fellowship of race and class and gender in a democratic society.
The people must fight for their laws as for their walls.
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