I have never conceived that having been in public life required me to belie my sentiments, or to conceal them. Opinion and the just maintenance of it shall never be a crime in my view, nor bring injury on the individual. I never will by any word or act, bow to the shrine of intolerance. I never had an opinion in politics or religion which I was afraid to own; a reserve on these subjects might have procured me more esteem from some people, but less from myself.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of standing by one's beliefs in public life without fear of judgment.
Thomas Jefferson asserts that honesty in one’s sentiments, particularly regarding politics and religion, is paramount. He rejects the notion that concealing one's opinions for the sake of public approval is acceptable, stating that maintaining integrity and being true to oneself is of greater value than seeking the esteem of others. Jefferson believes that genuine expression of opinion should never be deemed a crime and emphasizes the importance of resisting intolerance.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of individuality in political discourse.
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.
People often say that humans have always eaten animals, as if this is a justification for continuing the practice. According to this logic, we should not try to prevent people from murdering other people, since this has also been done since the earliest of times.
Man has throughout the ages been seeking something beyond himself, beyond material welfare - something we call truth or God or reality, a timeless state - something that cannot be disturbed by circumstances, by thought or by human corruption.
Your true meaning cannot be grasped or captured by words. You can never be equated with any words, because you are prior to words.
The dangers is that every religion, including the Catholic one, says "I have the ultimate truth." Then you start to rely on the priest, the mullah, the rabbi, or whoever, to be responsible for your acts. In fact, you are the only one who is responsible.
We come into the world alone and we die alone. Why, in life, should we be any less alone?
Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes I think we're not. In either case the idea is quite staggering.
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