That the greatest security of the people, against the encroachments and usurpations of their superiors, is to keep the Spirit of Liberty constantly awake, is an undeniable truth

An appearance of delicacy, and even fragility, is almost essential to beauty.

The wisdom of our ancestors.

There is a courageous wisdom; there is also a false, reptile prudence, the result not of caution but of fear.

The method of teaching which approaches most nearly to the method of investigation is incomparably the best.

But a good patriot, and a true politician, always considers how he shall make the most of the existing materials of his country. A disposition, to preserve, and an ability to improve, taken together, would be my standard of a statesman. Everything else is vulgar in the conception, perilous in the execution.

There is a boundary to men's passions when they act from feelings; but none when they are under the influence of imagination.