To George Wythe, 13 August 1786 ↑

Preach a crusade against ignorance

Preach, my dear Sir, a crusade against ignorance; establish and improve the law for educating the common people. Let our countrymen know that the people alone can protect us against these evils [misery by kings, nobles and priests], and that the tax which will be paid for this purpose is not more than the thousandth part of what will be paid to kings, priests and nobles who will rise up among us if we leave the people in ignorance.

Thomas Jefferson, 13 Aug 1786, from the letter “To George Wythe, 13 August 1786”