We have the wolf by the ears; and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go. Justice is in one scale, and self-preservation in the other.

Thomas Jefferson

Read this letter at the National Archives website

More information about this quote

Topic

Slavery

Author

Thomas Jefferson

Medium

Letter

Statement Type

Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

English

Time

1820 1820s 19th century

Occupation

Founding Father American President National leader Politician

From

United States

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Jefferson, Thomas. Letter to John Holmes. 22 Apr. 1820.

Current Citation

Jefferson, Thomas. "John Holmes, April 22, 1820." The Life and Selected Writings of Thomas Jefferson: Including the Autobiography, The Declaration of Independence & His Public and Private Letters, edited by Adrienne Koch and William Peden. Modern Library, 1998.

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A quote by Thomas Jefferson about slavery: “We have the wolf by the ears; and we can neither hold him, nor safely…”
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Related Quotes

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote by Thomas Jefferson

It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.

Thomas Jefferson

Notes on the State of Virginia

More information about this quote
Topic
Freedom of religion

Author

Thomas Jefferson
Source
Notes on the State of Virginia
Genre
Political literature
Language
English
Time
1787 1780s 18th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Jefferson, Thomas [published anonymously]. Notes on the State of Virginia. Paris: Philippe Denis Pierres, 1785, query 17.

Current Citation

Jefferson, Thomas. Notes on the State of Virginia, edited by Frank Shuffelton. Penguin Classics, 1998, query 17.

Another quote from the 1820s

You have deeply ventured;
But all must do so who would greatly win.

Lord Byron

More information about this quote
Topic
Taking risks Risk vs. reward Risk

Author

Lord Byron
Source
Marino Faliero, Doge of Venice
Medium
Play
Genre
Tragic play
Language
English
Time
1821 1820s 19th century
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Lord Byron. Marino Faliero, Doge of Venice. London: John Murray, 1821, act 1, sc. 2.

Current Citation

Lord Byron. Marino Faliero, Doge of Venice. The Collected Poems of Lord Byron. Wordsworth, 1994, act 1, sc. 2.

Another quote about Slavery

If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong.

Abraham Lincoln

Read the full text of this speech at umich.edu
More information about this quote
Topic
Slavery

Author

Abraham Lincoln
Source
Letters of Abraham Lincoln
Medium
Letter
Genre
Political speech
Language
English
Time
1864 1860s 19th century
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Lincoln, Abraham. Letter to Albert G. Hodges. 4 Apr. 1864.

Current Citation

Lincoln, Abraham. "To Albert G. Hodges, April 4, 1864." Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1859-1865, edited by Don E. Fehrenbacher. Library of America, 1989.

Another quote of the following type Metaphor, analogy and simile

Make the Revolution a parent of settlement, and not a nursery of future revolutions.

Edmund Burke

Reflections on the Revolution in France

Buy Reflections on the Revolution in France at Amazon Buy Reflections on the Revolution in France at Amazon
Read Reflections on the Revolution in France at Project Gutenberg
More information about this quote
Topic
Revolution French Revolution

Author

Edmund Burke
Source
Reflections on the Revolution in France
Genre
Political literature
Statement Type
Metaphor, analogy and simile
Language
English
Time
1790 1790s 18th century
Era
Age of Enlightenment
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Burke, Edmund. Reflections on the Revolution in France. London: James Dodsley, 1790.

Current Citation

Burke, Edmund. "Reflections on the Revolution in France." The Portable Edmund Burke, edited by Isaac Kramnick. Penguin, 2009.