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‘Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty’ is often credited to Thomas Jefferson, but it has never been found in his writings. The saying goes back to the Irish lawyer John Philpot Curran, who said in a 1790 speech in Dublin that liberty is given to people on condition of eternal vigilance.

Speech in Dublin, 1790

History

The story behind the card

Curran spoke in 1790 in a dispute over the right to elect the Lord Mayor of Dublin. He warned that the idle usually see their rights taken by the active, and that God gives liberty on condition of eternal vigilance: break that condition, and servitude follows as both result and punishment. The short modern form was used by the American anti-slavery campaigner Wendell Phillips in a speech in Boston on 28 January 1852. In 1879 Phillips himself wrote that the line had been credited to Jefferson but that no one had found it in his works, and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which runs his home at Monticello, lists it as spurious. Curran (1750–1817) was an Irish barrister and member of the Irish Parliament, famous for defending people accused of rebellion against the Crown.

Türkçe oku
“Özgürlüğün bedeli sürekli tetikte olmaktır” sözü genellikle Thomas Jefferson'a mal edilir, ama onun yazılarında bu söze hiç rastlanmamıştır. Sözün kökeni İrlandalı avukat John Philpot Curran'a dayanır: Curran 1790'da Dublin'de yaptığı bir konuşmada, özgürlüğün insana hep tetikte durması koşuluyla verildiğini söylemişti.
Dublin'de bir konuşma, 1790

Curran bu konuşmayı 1790'da, Dublin belediye başkanını seçme hakkının kime ait olduğu tartışılırken yaptı. Tembellerin haklarının çoğu zaman gayretlilerin eline geçtiğini, Tanrı'nın insana özgürlüğü hep tetikte durması koşuluyla verdiğini söyledi; bu koşula uymayanı, hem suçunun sonucu hem de cezası olarak köleliğin beklediğini ekledi. Bugünkü kısa biçimini Amerikalı kölelik karşıtı Wendell Phillips, 28 Ocak 1852'de Boston'da yaptığı bir konuşmada kullandı. Phillips 1879'da bir mektubunda, sözün Jefferson'a atfedildiğini ama onun yazılarında kimsenin bulamadığını belirtmişti. Jefferson'ın Monticello'daki evini yöneten Thomas Jefferson Vakfı da bu atfı asılsız sayar. Curran (1750-1817), İrlanda Parlamentosu'nda da bulunmuş bir avukattı; Britanya yönetimine karşı isyanla suçlanan kişileri mahkemede savunmasıyla ün kazandı.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: John Philpot Curran
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