Age Quote by Thomas Jefferson
“What a stupendous, what an incomprehensible machine is man! Who can endure toil, famine, stripes, imprisonment & death itself in vindication of his own liberty, and the next moment ... inflict on his fellow men a bondage, one hour of which is fraught with more misery than ages of that which he rose in rebellion to oppose.”
About This Quote
Source Letter (anonymous attribution, likely apocryphal)
Human nature can create both liberty and oppression; the same capacity for endurance can be turned to cruelty.
In simple terms: Freedom can breed oppression.
Key Takeaway
Guard against misuse of liberty.
Themes
freedom
human nature
contradiction
Mood
serious
concerned
Type
historical
philosophical
When to use this quote
- government policy
- social movements
- personal decisions
- education reform
Key Concepts
political theory
psychology
ethics
Questions to Reflect On
- How do societies prevent liberty from becoming oppression?
- What personal responsibilities accompany freedom?
A Different Perspective
Historical context may differ; quote’s authenticity is doubtful.
![“[If a book were] very innocent, and one which might be confided to the reason of any man; not likely to be much read if let alone, but if persecuted, it will be generally read. Every man in the United States will think it a duty to buy a copy, in vindication of his right to buy and to read what he…” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ca5/thomas-jefferson-43_book_if-a-book-were-very-innocent-and-one-whi_1766472.jpg)
![“[States and the Federal government are] coordinate departments of one simple and integral whole... The one is the domestic, the other the foreign branch of the same government.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/401/thomas-jefferson-43_branches_states-and-the-federal-government-are-co_2619.jpg)
![“Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period and pursued unalterably through every change of ministers, too plainly prove a deliberate, systematic plan of reducing [a people] to slavery.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/00c/thomas-jefferson-43_change_single-acts-of-tyranny-may-be-ascribed-t_5515.jpg)
![“Though you cannot see, when you take one step, what will be the next, yet follow truth, justice, and plain dealing, and never fear their leading you out of [any difficult situation] in the easiest manner possible...” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ebe/thomas-jefferson-43_difficult_though-you-cannot-see-when-you-take-one_9828.jpg)
