James Madison

“ The several professions of more elevated pretensions, the merchant, the lawyer, the physician, the philosopher, the divine, form a certain proportion of every civilized society, and readily adjust their numbers to its demands and its circumstances. ”

“ Whatever is least favorable to vigor of body, to the faculties of the mind, or to the virtues or to the utilities of life, instead of being forced or fostered by public authority, ought to be seen with regret, as long as occupations more friendly to human happiness lie vacant. ”

“ It is fortunate, in general, and particularly for this country, that so much of the ordinary and most essential consumption takes place in fabrics which can be prepared in every family, and which constitute, indeed, the natural ally of agriculture. ”

“ How unfortunate, that in the intercourse by which nations are enlightened and refined, and their means of safety extended, the immediate agents should be distinguished by the hardest condition of humanity. ”

“ Intelligence may be cultivated in this as well as in any other walk of life. If the mind be less susceptible of polish in retirement than in a crowd, it is more capable of profound and comprehensive efforts. ”

“ It has a compensation in its ignorance of others. Competency is more universally the lot of those who dwell in the country where liberty is at the same time their lot. The extremes, both of want and of waste, have other abodes. ”