Honor, justice, and humanity, forbid us tamely to surrender that freedom which we received from our gallant ancestors, and which our innocent posterity have a right to receive from us.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of preserving freedom and justice for future generations.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson passionately advocates for the need to uphold the freedoms that were fought for by our ancestors. He argues that it is our moral obligation to not surrender our liberty, as it is not only a gift from those who came before us but also a right that must be safeguarded for those who will come after us. This highlights a sense of responsibility towards both history and future generations.
In practice
In a speech about civil rights, you might quote Jefferson to inspire your audience to fight for freedom.
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.
Even though I'm not running anymore, we still have to try to find a cure for cancer. Other people should go ahead and try to do their own thing now.
I have left my home, my family, and my job, and I am raising my voice. To do otherwise would betray those who languish in prison. I can speak when so many cannot.
I am not a woman on Monday, an immigrant on Tuesday, a worker on Wednesday, and a mom on Thursday, I am all of those things all of the time, and I am going to fight for all of those things all of the time.
I'm no longer accepting the things I cannot change...I'm changing the things I cannot accept.
There is nothing I love as much as a good fight.
Sometimes the riskiest decision you can make is to do nothing.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.