--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have counted the cost of this contest…" description: "\"We have counted the cost of this contest, and find nothing so dreadful as voluntary slavery.-Honor, justice, and humanity, forbid us tamely to surrende..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5a/thomas-jefferson-43_ancestor_we-have-counted-the-cost-of-this-contest_1311075.jpg" --- # We have counted the cost of this contest, and find nothing… ![“We have counted the cost of this contest, and find nothing so dreadful as voluntary slavery.-Honor, justice, and humanity, forbid us tamely to surrender that freedom which we received from our gallant ancestors, and which our innocent posterity have a right to receive from us. We cannot endure the…” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5a/thomas-jefferson-43_ancestor_we-have-counted-the-cost-of-this-contest_1311075.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5a/thomas-jefferson-43_ancestor_we-have-counted-the-cost-of-this-contest_1311075.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5a/thomas-jefferson-43_ancestor_we-have-counted-the-cost-of-this-contest_1311075.jpg) > “We have counted the cost of this contest, and find nothing so dreadful as voluntary slavery.-Honor, justice, and humanity, forbid us tamely to surrender that freedom which we received from our gallant ancestors, and which our innocent posterity have a right to receive from us. We cannot endure the infamy and guilt of resigning succeeding generations to that wretchedness which inevitably awaits them, if we basely entail hereditary bondage upon them.” [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author warns that accepting slavery, even voluntarily, betrays the principles of honor, justice, and humanity, condemning it as a moral catastrophe for future generations **In simple terms:** Slavery contradicts liberty and justice Key Takeaway Reject any form of slavery and uphold freedom Themes freedom justice human rights Mood somber determined Type historical ethical When to use this quote - legislation - public discourse - education reform Key Concepts Moral philosophy political theory Questions to Reflect On - How can societies reconcile past injustices? - What responsibilities do we have to future generations? A Different Perspective It may not address economic arguments used to justify slavery ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestor/) [Bondage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bondage/) [Contests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contests/) [Cost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cost/) [Endure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endure/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Gallant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gallant/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Guilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilt/) [Hereditary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hereditary/) [Hereditary Bondage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hereditary-bondage-4338620/) [Honor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honor/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Infamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infamy/) [Innocent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocent/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Posterity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/posterity/) [Resigning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resigning/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) [Slavery Honor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery-honor-4338619/) [Succeed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/succeed/) [Surrender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrender/) [Surrender Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrender-freedom-1680280/) [Voluntary Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voluntary-slavery-4338618/) [Wretchedness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wretchedness/) ## Related quotes > [Honor, justice, and humanity, forbid us tamely to surrender that freedom which we received from our gallant ancestors, and which our innocent posterity have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/honor-justice-and-humanity-forbid-us-tamely-to-surrender-that-freedom/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Biblical law permits voluntary slavery because it recognizes that some people are not able to maintain a position of independence . . . The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-rushdoony/biblical-law-permits-voluntary-slavery-because-it-recognizes-that/) [R.J. Rushdoony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-rushdoony/) > [Here's a summary for the time or attention challenged: Never surrender freedom for laws that can't affect criminals; they disobey laws for a living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-lapierre/here-s-a-summary-for-the-time-or-attention-challenged-never-surrender/) [Wayne LaPierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-lapierre/) > [“ Escape from Freedom attempts to show, modern man still is anxious and tempted to surrender his freedom to dictators of all kinds, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/escape-from-freedom-attempts-to-show-modern-man-still-is-anxious-and/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“Who is born in freedom will not surrender his freedom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-kristian-goldmund-aumann/who-is-born-in-freedom-will-not-surrender-his-freedom/) [sir kristian goldmund aumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-kristian-goldmund-aumann/) > [Some people surrender their freedom willingly but others are forced to surrender it. 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It is time in which we are directed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-jones/a-huge-portion-of-our-lives-involves-the-surrender-of-our-freedom-and/) [Owen Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-jones/) > [ \[T\]hose who are willing to surrender their freedom for security have always demanded that if they give up their full freedom it should also… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/t-hose-who-are-willing-to-surrender-their-freedom-for-security-have/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [“Here’s the thing about freedom: Freedom is not a couch. It’s not a television, or a car, or a house. It’s not an item…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-sakey/here-s-the-thing-about-freedom-freedom-is-not-a-couch-it-s-not-a/) [Marcus Sakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-sakey/) > [“When politicians today invoke terrorism they are speaking, of course, of an actual danger. But when they try to train us to surrender freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/when-politicians-today-invoke-terrorism-they-are-speaking-of-course/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [I am resigning because my secret leaves the governor's office vulnerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcgreevey/i-am-resigning-because-my-secret-leaves-the-governor-s-office/) [James McGreevey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcgreevey/) > [For the victor peace means the preservation of the position of power which he has secured. For the vanquished it means resigning himself to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-stresemann/for-the-victor-peace-means-the-preservation-of-the-position-of-power/) [Gustav Stresemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-stresemann/) > [Washington is a resigning town. Nothing else holds the special excitement of a rumored resignation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-p-bush/washington-is-a-resigning-town-nothing-else-holds-the-special/) [George P. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-p-bush/) ## More by Thomas Jefferson > [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [ \[States and the Federal government are\] coordinate departments of one simple and integral whole... The one is the domestic, the other the foreign branch… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/states-and-the-federal-government-are-coordinate-departments-of-one/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendency of one sect over another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-for-freedom-of-religion-and-against-all-maneuvers-to-bring-about/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/single-acts-of-tyranny-may-be-ascribed-to-the-accidental-opinion-of-a/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Perceiving the order of nature to be that individual happiness shall be inseparable from the practice of virtue, I am willing to hope it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/perceiving-the-order-of-nature-to-be-that-individual-happiness-shall/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind down those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/free-government-is-founded-in-jealousy-and-not-in-confidence-it-is/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Though you cannot see, when you take one step, what will be the next, yet follow truth, justice, and plain dealing, and never fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/though-you-cannot-see-when-you-take-one-step-what-will-be-the-next/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-well-informed-citizenry-is-the-best-defense-against-tyranny/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The two principles on which our conduct towards the Indians should be founded are justice and fear. After the injuries we have done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-two-principles-on-which-our-conduct-towards-the-indians-should-be/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Knowledge is power...knowled ge is safety...knowle dge is happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/knowledge-is-power-knowled-ge-is-safety-knowle-dge-is-happiness/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [There is... an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-is-an-artificial-aristocracy-founded-on-wealth-and-birth/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Nothing but free argument, raillery and even ridicule will preserve the purity of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/nothing-but-free-argument-raillery-and-even-ridicule-will-preserve/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [When the people are afraid of the government, that's tyranny. But when the government is afraid of the people, that's liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/when-the-people-are-afraid-of-the-government-that-s-tyranny-but-when/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-hold-these-truths-to-be-self-evident-that-all-men-are-created/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) [Explore all 2,098 Thomas Jefferson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## More Ancestor quotes > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [Food binds us to our roots as strongly as any song or poem. Many of us have learned more about our ancestors in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-thomas/food-binds-us-to-our-roots-as-strongly-as-any-song-or-poem-many-of-us/) [Anna Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-thomas/) > [Whereas our ancestors (not of choice) were the first successful cultivators of the wilds of America, we their descendants feel ourselves entitled to participate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-allen/whereas-our-ancestors-not-of-choice-were-the-first-successful/) [Richard Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-allen/) > [Going where no man has gone before is more difficult than it sounds. Our cousins and ancestors were no less curious than we are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/going-where-no-man-has-gone-before-is-more-difficult-than-it-sounds/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [I use the phrase 'sibling society' to suggest a culture fundamentally without fathers, mothers, grandfathers, grandmothers, or ancestors. The thinking is horizontal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/i-use-the-phrase-sibling-society-to-suggest-a-culture-fundamentally/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [“A very long time ago, some 2.5 million years B.C., the mother of human species as we know it, our ultimate ancestor, appeared in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/a-very-long-time-ago-some-2-5-million-years-b-c-the-mother-of-human/) [Norman F. 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Wrapped tightly in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/a-solitary-american-monk-named-thomas-berry-writes-that-in-our/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) [Browse all 767 Ancestor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We have counted the cost of this contest, and find nothing so dreadful as voluntary slavery.-Honor, justice, and humanity, forbid us tamely to surrender that freedom which we received from our gallant ancestors, and which our innocent posterity have a right to receive from us. 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