Our Ancestors ... Possessed A Right, Which

[we Should Be] Determined... To Sever Ourselves From The Union We So Much Value Rather Than Give Up The Rights Of Self-government... In Which Alone We See Liberty, Safety And Happiness.

We Ought Not To Schismatize On Either Men Or Measures. Principles Alone Can Justify That.

For Here We Are Not Afraid To Follow Truth Wherever It May Lead.

I Consider The Doctrines Of Jesus As Delivered By Himself To Contain The Outlines Of The Sublimest System Of Morality That Has Ever Been Taught But I Hold In The Most Profound Detestation And Execration The Corruptions Of It Which Have Been Invented.

Sir, Your Letter Of The 15th Is Received, But Age Has Long Since Obliged Me To Withhold My Mind From Speculations Of The Difficulty Of Those Of Your Letter, That Their Are Means Of Artificial Buoyancy By Which Man May Be Supported In The Air, The Balloon Has Proved, And That Means Of Directing It May Be Discovered Is Against No Law Of Nature And Is Therefore Possible As In The Case Of Birds, But To Do This By Mechanical Means Alone In A Medium So Rare And Unassisting As Air Must Have The Aid Of Some Principal Not Yet Generally Known.