We have the wolf by the ears, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go. Justice is in one scale, and self-preservation in the other.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the struggle between justice and self-preservation when faced with difficult choices.
Thomas Jefferson's quote illustrates the precarious situation of being trapped between two compelling forces: the pursuit of justice and the instinct for self-preservation. It reflects on the challenges of making decisions where moral integrity and personal safety are at odds, emphasizing the complexities of ethical dilemmas that individuals often face, particularly in politics and governance. The metaphor of holding a wolf by the ears implies that while one may have power, it is also risky and may lead to adverse consequences.
In practice
During a political debate, one might quote this to illustrate the challenges of balancing ethics with public safety.
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.
Temptation is an irresistible force at work on a movable body.
Oh, come! That boot is on the other leg. Why should you call me to account for eating decently? If I battened on the scorched corpses of animals, you might well ask me why I did that
The goal of this office will not be to favor one religious group over another - or even religious groups over secular groups. It will simply be to work on behalf of those organizations that want to work on behalf of our communities, and to do so without blurring the line that our founders wisely drew between church and state.
Blameless people are always the most exasperating.
Oh despise not election! therein lies all your hope, that there is a remnant who shall infallibly be saved.
Religious belief, like history itself, is a story that is always unfolding, always subject to inquiry and ripe for questioning. For without doubt there is no faith.
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