We must use a good deal of economy in our wood, never cutting down new, where we can make the old do.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of resourcefulness and sustainability in using available materials.
Thomas Jefferson advocates for a mindful and sustainable approach to resource management in this quote. He suggests that rather than recklessly depleting new resources, one should find ways to repurpose and utilize what is already available, promoting a philosophy of conservation and efficiency that can be applied to various aspects of life.
In practice
In a discussion about environmental impact, one could use this quote to emphasize the need for sustainable 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
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.
Example acquires tenfold authority when it speaks from the grave.
If you donβt want your life to be 'messed up', donβt fool around with those who have messed up theirs.
Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look.
The intelligent man finds almost everything ridiculous, the sensible man hardly anything.
In the end I do respond to my own instincts. Sometimes they're successful, and obviously sometimes they're not. But you have to, I think, remain true to what you believe in.
Do not say, 'It is morning,' and dismiss it with a name of yesterday. See it for the first time as a newborn child that has no name.
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