The natural progress of things... (Quotation)

"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yeild,[1] and government to gain ground." - Thomas Jefferson to Edward Carrington, Paris, May 27, 1788[2]

Note: This sentence is sometimes mis-quoted as, "The natural progress of things is for the government to gain ground and for liberty to yield."

Further Sources

• Kaminski, John P., ed.  The Quotable Jefferson.  Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2006.

Footnotes

• 1. "Yeild" is Thomas Jefferson's original spelling, and one that he used with a fair degree of frequency: there are approximately 70 usages of "yeild" in letters authored by Jefferson in the Papers of Thomas Jefferson in the years 1760-1802 vs. approximately 200 usages of "yield."
• 2. PTJ, 13:208-9. Letterpress copy at the Library of Congress.