Power to do good is the true and lawful act of aspiring; for good thoughts (though God accept them), yet towards men are little better than good dreams, except they be put in act; and that cannot be without power and place, as the vantage and commanding ground.

The people cannot delegate to government the power to do anything which would be unlawful for them to do themselves.

Truth, like gold, is not less so for being newly brought out of the mine.

Where all is but dream, reasoning and arguments are of no use, truth and knowledge nothing.

He that uses his words loosely and unsteadily will either not be minded or not understood.

The power of the legislative being derived from the people by a positive voluntary grant and institution, can be no other than what that positive grant conveyed, which being only to make laws, and not to make legislators, the legislative can have no power to transfer their authority of making laws, and place it in other hands.

And thus the community perpetually retains a supreme power of saving themselves from the attempts and designs of anybody, even of their legislators, whenever they shall be so foolish, or so wicked, as to lay and carry on designs against the liberties and properties of the subject.