Truth will do well enough if left to shift for herself ... She has no need of force to procure entrance into the minds of men.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Jefferson claims truth needs no force to enter human minds and will succeed on its own.
- In plain terms
- Truth does not need force to spread.
- What can you take from it?
- Allow truth to spread naturally without coercion.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Can truth spread without force?
- How do you share ideas?
Another view
Some truths require effort to overcome established lies.
More from Thomas Jefferson
War is an instrument entirely inefficient toward redressing wrong; and multiplies, instead of indemnifying losses.
Permalink to quote #199 A little revolution now and then is a good thing; the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. (1787)
Permalink to quote #201 We have the wolf by the ears, and we can neither hold him nor safely let him go. Justice is in one scale, self-preservation in the other.
Permalink to quote #198
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