The Wisdom of Col. Jeff Cooper

I supposedly met this gentleman at a range when I was a wee lad in Tucson AZ.
A classic quote.

"Personal weapons are what raised mankind out of the mud, and the rifle is
the queen of personal weapons.
 
The rifle is a weapon. Let there be no mistake about that. It is a tool of
power, and thus dependent completely upon the moral stature of its user. It
is equally useful in securing meat for the table, destroying group enemies
on the battlefield, and resisting tyranny. In fact, it is the only means of
resisting tyranny, since a citizenry armed with rifles simply cannot be
tyrannized.
 
The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own.
Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more
good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of
righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men
with rifles."

Jeff Cooper, The Art of the Rifle