“The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of Government.”

Strive not with your superiors in argument, but always submit your judgement to others with modesty.

I had rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world.

A small knowledge of human nature will convince us, that, with far the greatest part of mankind, interest is the governing principle; and that almost every man is more or less, under its influence.

The internet is full of many false and unverified quotes.

The internet is full of many false and unverified quotes.

If we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity.

I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own.

99% of failures come from people who make excuses.

I had hoped that liberal and enlightened thought would have reconciled the Christians so that their religious fights would not endanger the peace of Society.

There is nothing which can better deserve our patronage than the promotion of science and literature. Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness.

Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those be well-tried before you give them your confidence.

Citizens by birth or choice of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections.

Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations, are recommended by policy, humanity, and interest.

Individuals entering into society, must give up a share of liberty to preserve the rest.

My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth,

It is better to be alone than in bad company.

Like the British Constitution, she owes her success in practice to her inconsistencies in principle.

The Constitution is a radical document, it is the job of the government to rein in people’s rights.

Conservatives believe in providing Constitutional rights to our citizens, not to enemy combatants like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

If the Constitution says that the little guy should win, the little guy is going to win in court before me, … But if the Constitution says that the big guy should win, well, then the big guy is going to win because my obligation is to the Constitution.

Our Constitution is the envy of the world, as it should be for it is the grand design of the finest nation on earth.

I believe that water will one day be employed as fuel, that hydrogen and oxygen which constitute it, used singly or together, will furnish an inexhaustible source of heat and light, of an intensity of which coal is not capable.

The Constitution does not vest in Congress the authority to protect society from every bad act that might befall it. If followed to its logical extreme, [this approach] would result in an unwarranted expansion of federal power.

Our whole constitutional heritage rebels at the thought of giving government the power to control men’s minds.