None but an armed nation can dispense with a standing army
Interpretation
A nation must be prepared for self-defense and independence.
Thomas Jefferson's quote emphasizes the importance of a well-armed population for the security and sovereignty of a nation. He suggests that only a nation where the citizens are effectively armed can afford to not maintain a standing army, as such preparedness deters external threats and promotes self-governance.
In practice
During a debate on national security, one might cite this quote to advocate for gun rights.
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.
No one knows what is going to happen in the next few minutes, and yet people still go forward, because they have trust, because they have faith.
If we seek the Buddha outside the mind, the Buddha changes into a devil.
When the government violates the people's rights, insurrection is, for the people and for each portion of the people, the most sacred of the rights and the most indispensible of duties.
The salvation of mankind lies only in making everything the concern of all.
I think I hate cynicism more than anything else. It's the curse of our age, and I want to avoid it at all costs.
Material possessions, winning scores, and great reputations are meaningless in the eyes of the Lord, because He knows what we really are and that is all that matters.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.