"A strict observance of
the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a
good citizen, but it is not the highest.
The laws of necessity,
of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger,
are of higher obligation.
To lose our country by
a scrupulous adherence to written law would be to lose the
law itself, with life, liberty, property, and all those who
are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end
to the means."
Thomas Jefferson to
John Colvin, 1810
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