amnotforlinkingourselvesbynewtreatieswiththequarrelsofEurope；enteringthatfieldofslaughtertopreservetheirbalance，orjoiningintheconfederacyofkingstowaragainsttheprinciplesofliberty。Iamforfreedomofreligion，&againstallmaneuvrestobringaboutalegalascendancyofonesectoveranother：forfreedomofthepress，&againstallviolationsoftheconstitutiontosilencebyforce¬byreasonthecomplaintsorcriticisms，justorunjust，ofourcitizensagainsttheconductoftheiragents。AndI
amforencouragingtheprogressofscienceinallit’sbranches；andnotforraisingahueandcryagainstthesacrednameofphilosophy；
forawingthehumanmindbystoriesofraw-head&bloodybonestoadistrustofitsownvision，&toreposeimplicitlyonthatofothers；
togobackwardsinsteadofforwardstolookforimprovement；tobelievethatgovernment，religion，morality，&everyothersciencewereinthehighestperfectioninagesofthedarkestignorance，andthatnothingcaneverbedevisedmoreperfectthanwhatwasestablishedbyourforefathers。TotheseIwilladd，thatIwasasincerewell-wishertothesuccessoftheFrenchrevolution，andstillwishitmayendintheestablishmentofafree&well-orderedrepublic；butIhavenotbeeninsensibleundertheatrociousdepredationstheyhavecommittedonourcommerce。Thefirstobjectofmyheartismyowncountry。Inthatisembarkedmyfamily，myfortune，&myownexistence。Ihavenotonefarthingofinterest，noronefibreofattachmentoutofit，norasinglemotiveofpreferenceofanyonenationtoanother，butinproportionastheyaremoreorlessfriendlytous。ButthoughdeeplyfeelingtheinjuriesofFrance，Ididnotthinkwarthesurestmeansofredressingthem。Ididbelieve，thatamissionsincerelydisposedtopreservepeace，wouldobtainforusapeaceable&honorablesettlement&retribution；andIappealtoyoutosay，whetherthismightnothavebeenobtained，ifeitherofyourcolleagueshadbeenofthesamesentimentwithyourself。
These，myfriend，aremyprinciples；theyareunquestionablytheprinciplesofthegreatbodyofourfellowcitizens，andIknowthereisnotoneofthemwhichisnotyoursalso。Intruth，weneverdifferedbutononeground，thefundingsystem；andas，fromthemomentofit’sbeingadoptedbytheconstitutedauthorities，Ibecamereligiouslyprincipledinthesacreddischargeofittotheuttermostfarthing，weareunitednowevenonthatsinglegroundofdifference。