Although our prospect is peace, our policy and purpose are to provide for defense by all those means to which our resources are competent.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of defense while striving for peace as a goal.
Thomas Jefferson's quote reflects the dual approach of seeking peace but recognizing the necessity of being prepared for defense. It underscores the idea that while the ultimate aim may be harmony and tranquility, it is crucial to have the means to protect oneself and oneβs values when faced with threats, suggesting a balance between idealism and pragmatism in policy.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about national security to highlight the need for preparedness while advocating for peaceful solutions.
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.
There is no substitute for virtue. Keep your thoughts virtuous. Rise above the filth that's all around you in this world and stand tall in strength and virtue. You can do this and you will be happier for it for as long as you live. God bless you in cherishing, developing and holding on to this great gift, the quality of personal virtue.
Time for you and time for me, And time yet for a hundred indecisions, And for a hundred visions and revisions, Before the taking of a toast and tea.
Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-incurred immaturity.
To all new truths, or renovation of old truths, it must be as in the ark between the destroyed and the about-to-be renovated world. The raven must be sent out before the dove, and ominous controversy must precede peace and the olive wreath.
Africa, help me to go home, carry me like an aged child in your arms. Undress me and wash me. Strip me of all of these garments, strip me as a man strips off dreams when the dawn comes. . . .
The desire of gold is not for gold. It is for the means of freedom and benefit.
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