letters are not the first, but the last step in the progression from barbarism to civilisation.
Interpretation
Jefferson highlights the importance of written communication in the development of civilized society.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson reflects on the evolution of human society, suggesting that the invention of letters and writing is a crucial indicator of our progress from primitive conditions to a more cultured civilization. He emphasizes that literacy and the ability to communicate through writing are vital milestones that represent the sophistication and advancement of society beyond its barbaric roots.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of literacy programs, one might quote Jefferson to emphasize the role of written communication in progress.
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.
Feminist education β the feminist classroom β is and should be a place where there is a sense of struggle, where there is visible acknowledgment of the union of theory and practice, where we work together as teachers and students to overcome the estrangement and alienation that have become so much the norm in the contemporary university.
Knowledge without understanding is useless.
Though Nathalie Dupree did not remember much about my presence in her class, it marked me forever. I remain her enthusiast, her evangelist, her acolyte, and her grateful student. She taught me that cooking and storytelling make the most delightful coconspirators.
It is my fervent wish and my greatest ambition to leave a work with a few useful instructions for the pianists after me.
Virtue, though she gets her beginning from nature, yet receives her finishing touches from learning.
There is frequently more to be learned from the unexpected questions of a child than the discourses of men.
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