"I own that I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive." ― Thomas Jefferson Topic(s): Government Tags: friend More From Thomas Jefferson "As our enemies have found we can reason like men, so now let us show them we can fight like men also." "One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to have occasion for them." "I believe that every human mind feels pleasure in doing good to another." More In Government "The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive."― Thomas Jefferson "Power must be used, but it must be tempered by soul-searching and the recognition of our human capacity for error. That is the maxim that should inform our approach to every challenge, from reforming state government to engaging in foreign affairs."― Eliot Spitzer "It’s not good for government to tell people that the world owes them a living and that things are free."― William Weld