Mazzei soon became interested in Virginia's political affairs and spoke out against British rule. Tutti gli uomini sono per natura egualmente liberi e indipendenti. Quest' eguaglianza necessaria per costituire un governo libero. Bisogna che ognuno sia uguale all' oltro nel diritto naturale. Per questa ragione tutte le antiche repubbliche ebbero corta vita.
All men are by nature equally free and independent.
This equality is necessary to establish a free government. Each one must be equal to the other in natural rights. Class distinctions are not always static and will always be nothing more than an effective stumbling block, and the reason is most clear. For this reason all the ancient republics were short-lived. Mazzei was not particularly interested in taking credit for his writings.