Quote#Wisdom
A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he…
Quote byThomas Jefferson · 1743–1826
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Letter to Oliver Evans (16 January 1814); published in The Writings of Thomas Jefferson (1905) Vol. 13, p. 66.
English (original)
A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece of wood? He has a right to use his knife to cut his meat, a fork to hold it; may a patentee take from him the right to combine their use on the same subject?
— Thomas Jefferson
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