Our wish is that...[there be] maintained that state of property, equal or unequal, which results to every man from his own industry or that of his fathers.
Interpretation
Jefferson advocates for a system where property rights are preserved based on individual or familial labor.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson emphasizes the importance of property rights, suggesting that individuals should be entitled to the fruits of their labor and the efforts of their ancestors. He presents a vision of society in which property ownership is determined by one's own industry or that of previous generations, reflecting the values of hard work and the inheritance of one's achievements.
In practice
During a debate about economic policies, this quote can emphasize the importance of property 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 moral code or ethical principle, no piece of scripture or holy teaching, can be summoned to defend what we have allowed our country to become.
You do not have to utter anything you do not want to utter,β I told her, and she said, βThen I would never utter another word again.β βYou do not have to do anything that you do not want to do.β βThen I would never do anything again.
We . . . must try to live without causing unnecessary harm, not just to fellow humans but to all beings. We must try not to be stingy, or to exploit others. There will be enough pain in the world as it is.
As a well cut diamond has many facets, each reflecting a different color of light, so does the word yoga, each facet reflecting a different shade of meaning and revealing different aspects of the entire range of human endeavor to win inner peace and happiness.
Religion is a superstition that originated in man`s mental inability to solve natural phenomena. The Church is an orgainized institution that has always been stumbling to block progress.
When an individual is kept in a situation of inferiority, the fact is that he does become inferior.
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