Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations. 1989.
NUMBER:
618
AUTHOR:
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
QUOTATION:
It is, therefore, with the sincerest pleasure I have observed on the part of the British government various manifestations of a just and friendly disposition towards us; we wish to cultivate peace and friendship with all nations, believing that course most conducive to the welfare of our own; it is natural that these friendships should bear some proportion to the common interests of the parties.
ATTRIBUTION:
THOMAS JEFFERSON, letter to Sir John Sinclair, July 31, 1816.—The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, ed. Andrew A. Lipscomb, vol. 15, p. 54 (1904).
