We ought not to schismatize on either men or measures. Principles alone can justify that.
Interpretation
We should not divide ourselves based on individuals or methods, but rather base our actions on principles.
This quote from Thomas Jefferson emphasizes the importance of adhering to fundamental principles rather than allowing personal biases or specific strategies to drive divisions among people. It suggests that unity should be maintained through shared values and beliefs, rather than through allegiance to particular individuals or their methods, which can lead to discord.
In practice
This quote is perfect for a speech on the importance of teamwork in organizations.
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.
Human models are more vivid and more persuasive than explicit moral commands.
I am not afraid that the book will be controversial, I'm afraid it will not be controversial.
Life is without meaning. You bring the meaning to it.
The poor dog, in life the firmest friend, The first to welcome, foremost to defend, Whose honest heart is still the master's own, Who labours, fights, lives, breathes for him alone, Unhonour'd falls, unnoticed all his worth, Denied in heaven the soul he held on earth, While man, vain insect hopes to be forgiven, And claims himself a sole exclusive heaven.
Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.
It was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race.
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