Most codes extend their definitions of treason to acts not really against one's country. They do not distinguish between acts against the government, and acts against the oppressions of the government. The latter are virtues, yet have furnished more victims to the executioner than the former. Real treasons are rare; oppressions frequent. The unsuccessful strugglers against tyranny have been the chief martyrs of treason laws in all countries.
Thomas JeffersonI never did, or countenanced, in public life, a single act inconsistent with the strictest good faith; having never believed there was one code of morality for a public, and another for a private man.
Thomas JeffersonWhen wrongs are pressed because it is believed they will be borne, resistance becomes morality.
Thomas JeffersonSelf-interest, or rather self-love, or egoism, has been more plausibly substituted as the basis of morality.
Thomas JeffersonIt is of great importance to set a resolution, not to be shaken, never to tell an untruth. There is no vice so mean, so pitiful, so contemptible; and he who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and a third time, till at length it becomes habitual.
Thomas Jefferson