Tuesday, October 28, 2014

On fine spun theoretic systems....................

"Mr. Jefferson is proof of this, he is a man of some requirements, extending even to elegant literature, but his opinions upon government are the result of fine spun theoretic systems, drawn from the ingenious writings of Locke, Sydney and others of their cast, which can never be realized, such opinions very probably are the favorite ones with those who now conduct the revolution in France;  I am far from thinking that the troubles in that great Kingdom are over, and I doubt whether it will be found practical to rule that high-spirited nation, with a single assembly, thwarted as it will be by a dissatisfied Clergy and Nobility."
-attributed to William Paterson,(1745-1806) who was among other things a signatory to the United States Constitution, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and Governor of New Jersey

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