"I am a soldier and a politician, but I am also a philosopher. I seek the truth, and I speak what I believe to be true."

"The United States is a nation of shopkeepers, not of soldiers."

"Among the popular and representative systems of government I do not approve of the federal system: it is too perfect; and it requires virtues and political talents much superior to our own."

"God grant that a single tyrant may not bring an entire republic to ruin."

"The liberty of the world is the hope of my heart."