No one, I hope, can doubt my wish to see... all mankind exercising self-government, and capable of exercising it. But the question is not what we wish, but what is practicable.
Interpretation
Thomas Jefferson emphasizes the importance of practicality in governance over mere wishes for self-government.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson conveys his belief in the fundamental right of all people to govern themselves. However, he acknowledges the gap between idealistic desires and the realities of what can actually be achieved. This underscores a philosophical tension between hopes for universal self-governance and the practical limitations that must be considered in political affairs.
In practice
This quote can be used during a political debate to discuss the challenges of implementing democratic ideals.
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.
Whenever and wherever men have engaged in the mindless slaughter of animals (including other men), they have often attempted to justify their acts by attributing the most vicious or revolting qualities to those they would destory; and the less reason there is for the slaughter, the greater the campaign for vilification.
The history of mankind is the history of our misunderstandings with god, for he doesn't understand us, and we don't understand him.
People are not interested in you. They are not interested in me. They are interested in themselves - morning, noon and after dinner.
Except for the sound of the rain, on the road, on the roofs, on the umbrella, there was absolute silence: only the dying moan of the sirens continued for a moment or two to vibrate within the ear. It seemed to Scobie later that this was the ultimate border he had reached in happiness: being in darkness, alone, with the rain falling, without love or pity.
To be moral, correct, and virtuous is to be obedient to an old established law and custom.
We cannot change our past. We can not change the fact that people act in a certain way. We can not change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.
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