Virginia Governor Thomas Jefferson (1781) wrote in his Notes of the State of Virginia, Query XVIII:
<God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath?
Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever; That a revolution of the wheel of fortune, a change of situation, is among possible events; that it may become probable by Supernatural influence! The Almighty has no attribute which can take side with us in that event.> 1781VA001
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1781VA001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Virginia Governor Thomas Jefferson, 1781, in his Notes of the State of Virginia, Query XVIII.