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> I have > taken an interest in Thomas Jefferson over some months and have been > looking for a particular quote, which I cannot seem to find. I ran > across your website and did some extensive searching and reading and > still have not found the quote for which I'm looking. I found your > email address on your website. > > Perhaps you might help me out. Maybe Jefferson didn't say this for > all I know, but someone else attempted to quote it to me and I've > been looking for it ever since. > > It goes something like this: > > Should a government be made for the liberty or safety of people? > Without responsibility, there can be no safety or liberty. > > I realize I am woefully inadequate in trying to write whatever it > was that was said to me, but I'm trying to find something that > appears to be similar, which was said by Thomas Jefferson. The quotation you inquire about sounds a lot like one by Benjamin Franklin: "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." --Benjamin Franklin That quote is often attributed to Thomas Jefferson. If that is not it, then I am afraid I cannot help you. The quote about which you ask is not by Jefferson, in my opinion. I have never seen it in his writings, and it does not seem to be his style, but that could be due to it being imperfectly remembered. If you would like more information on the Franklin quote, please go to: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7842/archives/quote019.htm