Let no more be heard of confidence in man

I heard this phrase, "bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution," the other day and wondered where it came from.

It is a Thomas Jefferson quote from what has become known as the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798. The 8th Resolution contains the relevant passage:

In questions of powers, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.

Seems like a pithy summary of the twin concerns of over-reaching government and mob rule needing to be constrained by the rule of law as embodied in the Constitution.