The natural aristocracy I consider as the most precious gift of nature for the instruction, the trusts, and government of society. And indeed it would have been inconsistent in creation to have formed man for the social state, and not to have provided virtue and wisdom enough to manage the concerns of the society. May we not even say that that form of government is the best which provides the most - for a pure selection of these natural aristoi into the offices of government?
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of virtuous and wise leaders for the effective governance of society.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson suggests that the natural aristocracy, consisting of individuals with virtue and wisdom, is vital for guiding society and ensuring effective governance. He argues that it is a fundamental aspect of human nature to require such leaders, and that a government that fosters the selection of these virtuous individuals will ultimately serve society best.
In practice
During a civic engagement workshop, this quote can be used to discuss the qualities of effective leaders.
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.
And if there's a moral there, I don't know what it is, save maybe that we should take our goodbyes whenever we can.
We were good boys, good Presbyterian boys, and loyal and all that; anyway, we were good Presbyterian boys when the weather was doubtful; when it was fair, we did wander a little from the fold.
If we do not allow free thinking in chemistry or biology, why should we allow it in morals or politics?
People are hard to govern. The rulers interfere with too much. That is why people are hard to govern.
Indeed, as any one who has ever worked among the poor knows only too well, the brotherhood of man is no mere poet's dream, it is a most depressing and humiliating reality.
If you allow a political catchword to go on and grow, you will awaken some day to find it standing over you, arbiter of your destiny, against which you are powerless.
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