“I never expect a perfect work from an imperfect man.”

The pains taken to preserve peace include a proportional responsibility that equal pains be taken to be prepared for war.

In the general course of human nature, A power over a man’s subsistence amounts to a power over his will.

The art of reading is to skip judiciously.

A national debt, if it is not excessive, will be to us a national blessing.

The government is frequently and aptly classed under two descriptions – a government of force, and a government of laws; the first is the definition of despotism- the last, of liberty.

If the sword of oppression be permitted to lop off one limb without opposition, reiterated strokes will soon dismember the whole body.

Men often oppose a thing merely because they have had no agency in planning it, or because it may have been planned by those whom they dislike.

A strong body makes the mind strong, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise, and independence to the mind.

The constitution shall never be construed, to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.

Nature of war to increase the executive at the expense of the legislative authority.

A national debt, if it is not excessive, will be to us a national blessing.

The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed.

When avarice takes the lead in a state, it is commonly the forerunner of its fall.

Caution and investigation are a necessary armor against error and imposition.

In politics, as in religion, it is equally absurd to aim at making proselytes by fire and sword. Heresies in either can rarely be cured by persecution.

Government implies the power of making laws. It is essential to the idea of a law, that it be attended with a sanction; or, in other words, a penalty or punishment for disobedience.