"We have staked the whole future of the American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government; upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."
I took this quotation directly from the following source:
AMERICA'S God and Country Encyclopedia of Quotations, p. 411. I have now cross referenced this to the following:
The Myth of Separation (Aledo, TX; WallBuilder Press, 1999), p. 101
You wrote the following:
"I haven't heard that one, but it doesn't sound like Madison..."
I suppose I wonder why it doesn't sound like him when I consider the following:
1) He was known to have regularly led his household in the observance of family devotions;
2) He was an adamant defender of religious liberty;
3) He studied for the ministry before he took up the study of law;
4) He was Home-schooled as a child;
5) He also stated, on February 24, 1813, in a message to Congress,:
"The Government of Great Britain had already introduced into her commerce during the war a system which, at once violating the rights of other nations and resting on a mass of forgery and perjury unknown to other times, was making an unfortunate progress in undermining those principles of morality and religion which are the best foundation of national happiness...The general tendency of these demoralizing and disorganizing contrivances will be reprobated by the civilized and Christian world."
Besides being a great statesman, James Madison was a godly man. Why, then are you so sure that the quotation I initially placed on this thread and attributed to him, is a "bogus" quote; i.e., less that a "genuine" quote? Besides all of the above, I sincerely believe that his mindset as revealed in these and many other quotations, is not inconsistent with the mentality of all of his peers. Prior to, during and after the Revolution, these great men and women all wrote and made statements similar to these.
I meant no affront to you or to anyone else, and I don't really understand what seems to me a pretty intense level of defensiveness.
At any rate I thank you for keeping me on my toes.
Nancee
Because, as the link I posted said, no one has been able to find it in any of his published writings, and is only quoted in 20th century books which do not cite any original sources.