The diversity in the faculties of men, from which the rights of property originate, is not less an insuperable obstacle to a uniformity of interests. The protection of these faculties is the first object of government. From the protection of different and unequal faculties of acquiring property, the possession of different degrees and kinds of property immediately results; and from the influence of these on the sentiments and views of the respective proprietors, ensues a division of the society into different interests and parties.

Having outlived so many of my contemporaries, I ought not to forget that I may be thought to have outlived myself.

Popular liberty might then have escaped the indelible reproach of decreeing to the same citizens, the hemlock on one day, and statues on the next.

To consider the degree of concord which ultimately prevailed as less than a miracle.

Where a majority are united by a common sentiment, and have an opportunity, the rights of the minor party become insecure.

There never was an assembly of men, charged with a great and arduous trust, who were more pure in their motives, or more exclusively or anxiously devoted to the object committed to them.

Let me recommend the best medicine in the world: a long journey, at a mild season, through a pleasant country, in easy stages.