“No power on earth has a right to take our property from us without our consent. The only way to be loved is to be and to appear lovely; to possess and display kindness, benevolence, tenderness; to be free from selfishness and to be alive to the welfare of others. The Bible is the best of all books, for it is the word of God and teaches us the way to be happy in this world and in the next. Continue therefore to read it and to regulate your life by its precepts. Too many ... love pure democracy dearly. They seem not to consider that pure democracy, like pure rum, easily produces intoxication, and with it a thousand mad pranks and fooleries. Nothing is more certain than that a general profligacy and corruption of manners make a people ripe for destruction. A good form of government may hold the rotten materials together for some time, but beyond a certain pitch, even the best constitution will be ineffectual, and slavery must ensue. Republics are created by the virtue, public spirit, and intelligence of the citizens. They fall, when the wise are banished from the public councils, because they dare to be honest, and the profligate are rewarded, because they flatter the people, in order to betray them." -- John Jay (1745-1829), American Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Governor of New York, author of five of the Federalist Papers, signer of the 1783 Treaty of Paris granting American independence, President of the Continental Congress, abolitionist who led the fight to ban New York slavery in 1799, and outstanding Christian statesman.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Jul 2013 18:43:57 +0000
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