If virtuous, the government need not fear the fair operation of attack and defense. Nature has given to man no other means of sifting the truth, either in religion, law, or politics.
Interpretation
A government that is just and virtuous can trust in the natural process of honest debate to reveal the truth.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson asserts that a virtuous government has nothing to fear from challenges to its authority or policies, as open discourse and debate act as a mechanism for uncovering truth. He emphasizes that the principles of truth in matters of religion, law, and politics are inherent to human nature, suggesting that transparency and dialogue are essential for a just society.
In practice
During a town hall meeting about community issues, one could quote Jefferson to emphasize the importance of open discussion.
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.
The true friends of the people are neither revolutionaries, nor innovators, but traditionalists.
The church doesnβt have a social strategy, the church is a social strategy.
If individuality has no play, society does not advance; if individuality breaks out of all bounds, society perishes.
The Eucharist is a fire that inflames us, that, like lions breathing fire, we may retire from the altar being made terrible to the devil.
A scientist may not be sure of the answer, but he's often sure he can find one. And that's a condition which is clearly not enjoyed by philosophy.
To say that I am made in the image of God is to say that love is the reason for my existence, for God is love.
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