The true fountains of evidence [are] the head and heart of every rational and honest man. It is there nature has written her moral laws, and where every man may read them for himself.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes that moral truths are discovered through reason and emotion, inherent in every individual.
Thomas Jefferson asserts that genuine moral understanding stems from both the intellect and emotion of every rational person. He suggests that nature has inscribed its moral laws within us, allowing each individual the capacity to discern these truths through personal reflection and honesty.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about ethical decision-making.
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.
A petty reason perhaps why novelists more and more try to keep a distance from journalists is that novelists are trying to write the truth and journalists are trying to write fiction.
Far more has been accomplished for the welfare and progress of mankind by preventing bad actions than by doing good ones.
In this world, there must be a certain degree of honor just as there must be a certain amount of light. When there are many men without honor, there will always be some others who bear in themselves the honor of many men.
He who sleeps without offering the night prayer, may he never enjoy a sound sleep.
The next time you experience a blackout, take some solace by looking at the sky. You will not recognize it.
The greatest happiness of the greatest number is the foundation of morals and legislation.
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