Thomas Jefferson Quotes & Thomas Jefferson Sayings

"History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance of which their civil as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purposes" [Letter to von Humboldt, 1813]. "Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom." "If we run into such debts as that we must be taxed in our meat and in our drink, in our necessaries and our comforts, in our labors and our amusements, for our callings and our creeds, as the people of England are, our people, like them, must come to labor sixteen hours in the twenty-four, and give the earnings of fifteen of these to the government for their debts and daily expenses; And the sixteenth being insufficient to afford us bread, we must live, as they do now, on oatmeal and potatoes, have no time to think, no means of calling the mismanagers to account; but be glad to obtain subsistence by hiring ourselves to rivet their chains around the necks of our fellow sufferers; And this is the tendency of all human governments. A departure from principle in one instance becomes a precedent for a second, that second for a third, and so on 'til the bulk of the society is reduced to be mere automatons of misery, to have no sensibilities left but for sinning and suffering ... And the forehorse of this frightful team is public debt. Taxation follows that, and in its train wretchedness and oppression." "It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself." "Our country is too large to have all its affairs directed by a single government. Public servants at such a distance, and from under the eye of their constituents, must, from the circumstance of distance, be unable to administer and overlook all the details necessary for the good government of the citizens; and the same circumstance, by rendering detection impossible to their constituents, will invite public agents to corruption, plunder and waste." "Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear." "That government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves." "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." (Academics) commit their pupils to the theatre of the world, with just taste enough of learning to be alienated from industrial pursuits, and not enough to do service in the ranks of science ... the giver of life, who gave it for happiness and not for wretchedness. ...it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg. The Bible is the cornerstone of liberty. . . . Students' perusal of the sacred volume will make us better citizens, better fathers, and better husbands. A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inferences A coward is much more exposed to quarrels than a man of spirit A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine. A free people claim their rights as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their magistrate. A little rebellion now and then is a good thing. A little rebellion now and then... is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government. A lively and lasting sense of filial duty is more effectually impressed on the mind of a son or daughter by reading King Lear, than by all the dry volumes of ethics, and divinity, that ever were written. A mind always employed is always happy. This is the true secret, the grand recipe, for felicity. A morsel of genuine history is a thing so rare as to be always valuable. A nation as a society forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society A politician looks forward only to the next election. A statesman looks forward to the next generation. A republican government is slow to move, yet when once in motion, its momentum becomes irresistible A single zealot may commence prosecutor, and better men be his victims A society that will trade a little liberty for a little order will lose both, and deserve neither A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high virtues of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. A strong body makes the mind strong A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be the constant companion of your walks. A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor and bread it has earned -- this is the sum of good government. Above all things I hope the education of the common people will be attended to, convinced that on their good sense we may rely with the most security for the preservation of a due degree of liberty. Above all things, and at all times, practice yourself in good humor Advertisements... contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper. Agreeable society is the first essential in constituting the happiness and of course the value of our existence All authority belongs to the people All persons shall have full and free liberty of religious opinion; nor shall any be compelled to frequent or maintain any religious institution All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to = remain silent. All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will, to be rightful, must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal laws must protect, and to violate would be oppression. Among the most inestimable of our blessings, also, is that.. of liberty to worship our Creator in the way we think most agreeable to His will; a liberty deemed in other countries incompatible with good government and yet proved by our experience to An association of men who will not quarrel with one another is a thing which has never yet existed, from the greatest confederacy of nations down to a town meeting or a vestry. An enemy generally says and believes what he wishes. An honest man can feel no pleasure in the exercise of power over his fellow citizens An honest man can feel no pleasure in the exercise of power over his fellow citizens. An individual, thinking himself injured, makes more noise than state An injured friend is the bitterest of foes. And let us reflect that, having banished from our land that religious intolerance under which mankind so long bled and suffered, we have yet gained little if we countenance a political intolerance as despotic, as wicked, and capable of as bitter and Banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies. Be polite to all, but intimate with few. Believing that happiness of mankind is best promoted by the useful pursuits of peace, that on these alone a stable prosperity can be founded, that the evils of war are great in their endurance, and have a long reckoning for ages to come, I have used Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church and State. Letter to Connecticut Baptists Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church and State. Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state. Bigotry is the disease of ignorance, of morbid minds; enthusiasm of the free and buoyant. education and free discussion are the antidotes of both. Blood's thicker than water, and when one's in trouble Best to seek out a relative's open arms. The happiness of the domestic fireside is the first boon of Heaven; and it is well it is so, since it is that which is the lot of the mass of mankind. Bodily decay is gloomy in prospect, but of all human contemplations the most abhorrent is body without mind. Books constitute capital. A library book lasts as long as a house, for hundreds of years. It is not, then, an article of mere consumption but fairly of capital, and often in the case of professional men, setting out in life, it is their only capital. But a short time elapsed after the death of the great reformer of the Jewish religion, before his principles were departed from by those who professed to be his special servants, and perverted into an engine for enslaving mankind, and aggrandizing their oppressors in Church and State. But friendship is precious, not only in shade, but in the sunshine of life; and thanks to a benevolent arrangement of things, the greater part of life is sunshine But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life; and thanks to a benevolent arrangement of things, the greater part of life is sunshine. But this momentous question, like a fire bell in the night, awakened and filled me with terror Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Christianity is the most perverted system that ever shone on man Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law Common sense is The Foundation of all authorities, of the laws themselves, and of their construction. Conquest is not in our principles; it is inconsistent with our government Delay is preferable to error. Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition. Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing. Determine never to be idle...It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing. Difference of opinion is helpful in religion. Do not bite at the bait of pleasure till you know there is no hook beneath it. Do not bite at the bait of pleasure till you know there is no hook. Do not bite at the bait of pleasure, till you know there is no hook beneath it. Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you. Don't talk about what you have done or what you are going to do Doubts often beget the facts they fear. Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty. Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day. Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political; peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations,—entangling alliances with none; the support of the State governments in all their rights, as the most competent administrations for our domestic concerns, and the surest bulwarks against anti-republican tendencies; the preservation of the general government in its whole constitutional vigour, as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety abroad; …freedom of religion; freedom of the press; freedom of person under the protection of the habeas corpus; and trial by juries impartially selected, — these principles form the bright constellation which has gone before us, and guided our steps through an age of revolution and reformation. Error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have called by different names brethren of the same principle. Every generation needs a new revolution. Every people may establish what form of government they please, and change it as they please, the will of the nation being the only thing essential. Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms (of government) those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead... Freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of person under the protection of the habeas corpus; and trial by juries impartially selected, - these principles form the bright constellation which has gone before us Freedom of the person under the protection of habeas corpus. I deem one of the essential principles of our government. Friendship is but another name for an alliance with the follies and the misfortunes of others. Our own share of miseries is sufficient: why enter then as volunteers into those of another? Friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Gaming corrupts our disposition and teaches us a habit of hostility against all mankind God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Good humor is one of the preservatives of our peace and tranquility Governments (derive) their just powers from the consent of the governed Great innovations should not be forced on slender majorities. Happiness is not being pained in body or troubled in mind. He is happiest of whom the world says least, good or bad. He who knows best knows how little he knows He who knows nothing is closer to the truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and a third time till at length it becomes habitual. He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual. Health is the requisite after morality Health is worth more than learning. History has informed us that bodies of men as well as individuals are susceptible of the spirit of tyranny History, in general, only informs us of what bad government is. History, in general, only informs us what bad government is. Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom. Honesty is the first chapter of the book of wisdom. How much pain have cost us the evils which have never happened. How much pain they have cost us, the evils which have never happened. I am an Epicurean. I consider the genuine (not the imputed) doctrines of Epicurus as containing everything rational in moral philosophy which Greek and Roman leave to us. I am for freedom of religion and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendancy of one sect over another I am mortified to be told that, in the United States of America, the sale of a book can become a subject of inquiry, and of criminal inquiry too. I am not among those who fear the people. They, and not the rich, are our dependence for continued freedom. I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions, but laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors. I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and Constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors. I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs. I believe that every human mind feels pleasure in doing good to another. I believe... that every human mind feels pleasure in doing good to another. I can never fear that things will go far wrong where common sense has fair play. I cannot live without books. I consider ethics, as well as religion, as supplements to law in the government of man. I consider trial by jury as the only anchor ever yet imagined by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution. I do not find in orthodox Christianity one redeeming feature. I do not take a single newspaper, nor read one a month, and I feel myself infinitely the happier for it. I find as I grow older that I love those most whom I loved first. I find friendship to be like wine, raw when new, ripened with age, the true old man's milk and restorative cordial. I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have. I find the pain of a little censure, even when it is unfounded, is more acute than the pleasure of much praise. I had laid it down as a law for my conduct while in office, and hitherto scrupulously observed, to accept of no present beyond a book, a pamphlet, or other curiosity of minor value; as well to avoid imputation on my motives of action, as to shut out I had rather be shut up in a very modest cottage with my books, my family and a few old friends, dining on simple bacon, and letting the world roll on as it liked, than to occupy the most splendid post, which any human power can give. I have come to a resolution myself as I hope every good citizen will, never again to purchase any article of foreign manufacture which can be had of American make be the difference of price what it may I have ever deemed it more honorable and more profitable, too, to set a good example than to follow a bad one. I have great confidence in the common sense of mankind in general. I have great hope that some patriotic spirit will, at a favorable moment, call (up the law for religious freedom) and make it the keystone of the arch of our government I have never been able to conceive how any rational being could propose happiness to himself from the exercise of power over others. I have no fear that the result of our experiment will be that men may be trusted to govern themselves without a master. I have often thought that if heaven had given me choice of my position and calling, it should have been on a rich spot of earth, well watered, and near a good market for the productions of the garden. No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden. Such a variety of subjects, some one always coming to perfection, the failure of one thing repaired by the success of another, and instead of one harvest, a continued one thro' the year. Under a total want of demand except for our family table. I am still devoted to the garden. But tho' an old man, I am but a young gardener. I have recently been examining all the known superstitions of the world, and do not find in our particular superstition (Christianity) one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded on fables and mythology. I have seen enough of one war never to wish to see another I have supposed the black man, in his present state, might not be in body and mind equal to the white man; but it would be hazardous to affirm that, equally cultivated for a few generations, he would not become so I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. I have the consolation of having added nothing to my private Fortune during my public service, and of retiring with hands clean as they are empty. I hold it, that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us that the less we use our power the greater it will be. I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us, that the less we use our power the greater it will be. I hope we shall take warning from the example of England and crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations which dare already to challenge our Government to trial, and bid defiance to the laws of our country I know it will give great offense to the clergy, but the advocate of religious freedom is to expect neither peace nor forgiveness from them I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education. This is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power. I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past. I live for books. I never believed there was one code of morality for a public and another for a private man. I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend. I never did, or countenanced, in public life, a single act inconsistent with the strictest good faith; having never believed there was one code of morality for a public, and another for a private man I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever, in religion, in philosophy, in politics or in anything else, where I was capable of thinking for myself. Such an addiction is the last degradation of a free and moral agent. If I could not go to Heaven but with a party, I would not go there at all. I never told my own religion nor scrutinized that of another. I never attempted to make a convert, nor wished to change another's creed. I am satisfied that yours must be an excellent religion to have produced a life of such exemplary virtue and correctness. For it is in our lives, and not from our words, that our religion must be judged. 1816, in a Letter to Mrs. H. Harrison Smith I never told my own religion nor scrutinized that of another. I never attempted to make a convert, nor wished to change another's creed. I am satisfied that yours must be an excellent religion to have produced a life of such exemplary virtue and correctness. For it is in our lives, not from our words, that our religion must be judged. I never told my religion nor scrutinize that of another. I never attempted to make a convert nor wished to change another's creed. I have judged of others' religion by their lives... I never will, by any word or act, bow to the shrine of intolerance or admit a right of inquiry into the religious opinions of others. I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. I read no newspaper now but Ritchie's, and in that chiefly the advertisements, for they contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper. I recoil with horror at the ferociousness of man. Will nations never devise a more rational umpire of differences than force? Are there no means of coercing injustice more gratifying to our nature than a waste of the blood of thousands and of the labor of millions of our fellow creatures? I rejoice that in this blessed country of free inquiry and belief, which has surrendered its creed and conscience to neither kings nor priests, the genuine doctrine of only one God is reviving, and I trust that there is not a young man now living in I see no comfort in outliving one's friends, and remaining a mere monument of the times which are past. I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principles of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale I sincerely. believe. in the general existence of moral instinct. I think it the brightest gem with which the human character is studded, and the want of it as more degrading than the most hideous of the bodily deformities. I steer my bark with hope in the head, leaving fear astern. My hopes indeed sometimes fail, but not oftener than the forebodings of the gloomy. I steer my bark with hope in the head, leaving fear astern. My hopes indeed sometimes fail, but not oftener than the forebodings of the gloomy. 1816 I think our governments will remain virtuous for many centuries; as long as they are chiefly agricultural; and this will be as long as there shall be vacant lands in any part of America. When they get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, they will become corrupt as in Europe. I think we have more machinery of government than is necessary, too many parasites living on the labour of the industrious. I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever. I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever. I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it. I would rather be exposed to the inconveniencies attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it. I would wish my countrymen to adopt just so much of European politeness as to be ready to make all those little sacrifices of self, which really render Europeans amiable, and relieve society from the disagreeable scenes to which rudeness often subjec I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it. I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it. If The Children are untaught, their ignorance and vices will in future life cost us much dearer in their consequences than it would have done in their correction by a good education If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. If Americans ever allow banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children will wake up homeless If ever there was a holy war, it was that which saved our liberties and gave us independence If once the people become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress and Assemblies, Judges and Governors, shall all become wolves. It seems to be the law of our general nature, in spite of individual exceptions. If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. If the body be feeble, the mind will not be strong. If the freedom of religion, guaranteed to us by law in theory, can ever rise in practice under the overbearing inquisition of public opinion, then and only then will truth, prevail over fanaticism If the obstacles of bigotry and priestcraft can be surmounted, we may hope that common sense will suffice to do everything else If the present Congress errs in too much talking, how can it be otherwise in a body to which the people send one hundred and fifty lawyers, whose trade it is to question everything, yield nothing, and talk by the hour? If there be one principle more deeply rooted than any other in the mind of every American, it is, that we should have nothing to do with conquest If thinking men would have the courage to think for themselves, and to speak what they think, it would be found they do not differ in religious opinions as much as is supposed If we believe that he (Jesus Christ) really countenanced the follies, the falsehoods, and the charlatanisms, which his biographers father upon him, and admit the misconstructions, interpolations, and theorizations of the fathers of the early and the If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people, under the pretence of taking care of them, they must become happy. If you are obliged to neglect any thing, let it be your chemistry. It is the least useful and the least amusing to a country gentleman of all the ordinary branches of science. If, in my retirement to the humble station of a private citizen, I am accompanied with the esteem and approbation of my fellow citizens, trophies obtained by the bloodstained steel, or the tattered flags of the tented field, will never be envied. The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government. Ignorance is preferable to error, and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing than he who believes what is wrong. In a republican nation, whose citizens are to be led by reason and persuasion and not by force, the art of reasoning becomes of first importance In every country and every age, the priest had been hostile to Liberty. In every country and in every age the priest has been hostile to liberty; he is always in allegiance to the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection of his own In matters of principle, stand like a rock; in matters of taste, swim with the current. In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. In truth, politeness is artificial good humor, it covers the natural want of it, and ends by rendering habitual a substitute nearly equivalent to the real virtue. Information is the currency of democracy. Is it the Fourth? (last words) It behooves every man who values liberty of conscience for himself, to resist invasions of it in the case of others It behooves every man who values liberty of conscience for himself, to resist invasions of it in the case of others; or their case may, by change of circumstances, become his own It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God. It is an axiom in my mind that our liberty can never be safe but in the hands of the people themselves, and that, too, of the people with a certain degree of instruction It is as useless to argue with those who have renounced the use of reason as to administer medication to the dead It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself. It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself. It is in our lives and not our words that our religion must be read. It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world. It is more honorable to repair a wrong than to persist in it It is neither wealth nor splendor, but tranquility and occupation, which give happiness. It is not by consolidation, or concentration of powers, but by their distribution, that good government is effected It is part of the American character to consider nothing as desperate - to surmount every difficulty by resolution and contrivance. It is strangely absurd to suppose that a million human beings, collected together, are not under the same moral laws which bind each of them separately. It is strangely absurd to suppose that a million of human beings, collected together, are not under the same moral laws which bind each of them separately. It is to secure our rights that we resort to government at all. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing. It is, however, an evil for which there is no remedy, our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost It was by the sober sense of our citizens that we were safely and steadily conducted from monarchy to republicanism, and it is by the same agency alone we can be kept from falling back. Laws and institutions must go hand and hand with the progress of the human mind Laws are made for men of ordinary understanding and should, therefore, be construed by the ordinary rules of common sense. Their meaning is not to be sought for in metaphysical subtleties which may make anything mean everything or nothing at pleasure Laws that forbid the carrying of arms...disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes...Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man. Leave all the afternoon for exercise and recreation, which are as necessary as reading. I will rather say more necessary because health is worth more than learning. Let them stand undisturbed as monuments of the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated, where reason is left free to combat it Let us in education dream of an aristocracy of achievement arising out of a democracy of opportunity Let what will be said or done, preserve your sang froid immovably, and to every obstacle oppose patience, perseverance and soothing language Liberty is the great parent of science and of virtue; and a nation will be great in both always in proportion as it is free. Liberty is to the collective body, what health is to every individual body. Without health no pleasure can be tasted by man; without liberty, no happiness can be enjoyed by society. Man is fed with fables through life, and leaves it in the belief he knows something of what has been passing, when in truth he has known nothing but what has passed under his own eye. Millions of innocent men, women, and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burned, tortured, fined, and imprisoned, yet we have not advanced one inch toward uniformity. What has been the effect of coercion? To make one half of the world fools and the other half hypocrites. Money, not morality, is the principle commerce of civilized nations. Money, not morality, is the principle of commerce and commercial nations Morals were too essential to the happiness of man, to be risked on the uncertain combinations of the head. Nature laid their foundation, therefore, in sentiment, not in science. Most virtues when carried beyond certain bonds degenerate into vices. My affections were first for my own country, then, generally, for all mankind My great wish is to go on in a strict but silent performance of my duty; to avoid attracting notice, and to keep my name out of the newspapers My theory has always been, that if we are to dream, the flatteries of hope are as cheap, and pleasanter, than the gloom of despair. My views and feelings are in favor of the abolition of war--and I hope it is practicable, by improving the mind and morals of society, to lessen the disposition to war; but of its abolition I despair. Never fear the want of business. A man who qualifies himself well for his calling, never fails of employment. Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today. Never spend your money before you have earned it. Never spend your money before you have it. Never suppose that in any possible situation or under any circumstances that it is best for you to do a dishonorable thing however slightly so it may appear to you. Encourage all your virtuous dispositions, and exercise them whenever an opportunity a Never trouble another for what you can do for yourself. Never trouble another for what you can do yourself. Never [enter] into dispute or argument with another. I never yet saw an instance of one of two disputants convincing the other by argument. I have seen many on their getting warm, becoming rude and shooting one another. Never [enter] into dispute or argument with another. I never yet saw an instance of one of two disputants convincing the other by argument. I have seen many on their getting warm, becoming rude and shooting one another. No defender of slavery, I concede that it has its benevolent aspects in lifting the Negro from savagery and helping prepare him for that eventual freedom which is surely written in the Book of Fate No duty the Executive had to perform was so trying as to put the right man in the right place. No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. No government ought to be without censors; and where the press is free no one ever will. No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another, and this is all from which the laws ought to restrain him. No man will ever bring out of the Presidency the reputation which carries him into it. To myself, personally, it brings nothing but increasing drudgery and daily loss of friends. No man will ever bring out of the Presidency the reputation which carries him into it...To myself, personally, it brings nothing but increasing drudgery and daily loss of friends. No more good must be attempted than the people can bear. No nation is permitted to live in ignorance with impunity Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle. Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude. Nothing gives a person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances. Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances. Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate, than that these people are to be free; nor is it less certain that the two races, equally free, cannot live in the same government. Nature, habit, opinion have drawn indelible lines of distinction between them. Of all the cankers of human happiness none corrodes with so silent, yet so baneful an influence, as indolence Of all the systems of morality, ancient or modern, which have come under my observation, none appear to me so pure as that of Jesus Of liberty I would say that, in the whole plenitude of its extent, it is unobstructed action according to our will. But rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law,' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the right of an individual. Offices are as acceptable here as elsewhere, and whenever a man has cast a longing eye on them, a rottenness begins in his conduct On matters of style, swim with the current, on matters of principle, stand like a rock. On the dogmas of religion, as distinguished from moral principles, all mankind, from the beginning of the world to this day, have been quarreling, fighting, burning and torturing one another, for abstractions unintelligible to themselves and to all others, and absolutely beyond the comprehension of the human mind. One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to have occasion for them. One man with courage is a majority. One travels more usefully when alone, because he reflects more Our constitution is a peace establishment — it is not calculated for war. War would endanger its existence. Our country is now taking so steady a course as to show by what road it will pass to destruction, to wit: by consolidation (of power) first, and then corruption, its necessary consequence Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press. Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press and that cannot be limited without being lost. Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost. Our particular principles of religion are a subject of accountability to our god alone. I inquire after no man's and trouble none with mine; nor is it given to us in this life to know whether yours or mine, our friend's or our foe's, are exactly the Peace and friendship with all mankind is our wisest policy, and I wish we may be permitted to pursue it. Peace is our passion Peace with all nations, and the right which that gives us with respect to all nations, are our object. Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none. Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations...entangling alliances with none. Politics is such a torment that I advise everyone I love not to mix with it. Politics, like religion, hold up torches of martyrdom to the reformers of error Power is not alluring to pure minds Public employment contributes neither to advantage nor happiness. It is but honorable exile from one's family and affairs. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear. Question with boldness even the existence of God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear Reading, reflection and time have convinced me that the interests of society require the observation of those moral precepts only in which all religions agree (for all forbid us to steal, murder, plunder, or bear false witness), and that we should n Reason and free inquiry are the only effectual agents against error. Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God. Religions are all alike -- founded upon fables and mythologies Resort is had to ridicule only when reason is against us. Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual. Say nothing of my religion. It is known to God and myself alone. Its evidence before the world is to be sought in my life: if it has been honest and dutiful to society the religion which has regulated it cannot be a bad one. Self-interest, or rather self-love, or egoism, has been more plausibly substituted as the basis of morality. Shake off all the fears of servile prejudices, under which weak minds are servilely crouched. Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call on her tribunal for every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear. Some men look at constitutions with sanctimonious reverence ... too sacred to be touched. They ascribe to the men of the preceding age a wisdom more than human, and suppose what they did to be beyond amendment. Sound principles will not justify our taxing the industry of our fellow citizens to accumulate treasure for wars to happen we know not when, and which might not perhaps happen but from the temptations offered by that treasure Take care that you never spell a word wrong. Always before you write a word, consider how it is spelled, and, if you do not remember, turn to a dictionary. It produces great praise to a lady to spell well. to his daughter Martha Taste cannot be controlled by law That government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves. That peace, safety, and concord may be the portion of our native land, and be long enjoyed by our fellow-citizens, is the most ardent wish of my heart, and if I can be instrumental in procuring or preserving them, I shall think I have not lived in va That peace, safety, and concord may be the portion of our native land, and be long enjoyed by our fellow-citizens, is the most ardent wish of my heart, and if I can be instrumental in procuring or preserving them, I shall think I have not lived in vain. That to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical That to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical. The Advertisement is the most truthful part of a newspaper. The animosities of soverigns are temporary, and may be allayed; but those which seize the whole body of people, and of a people too, dictate their own measures, produce calamities of long duration The appointment of a woman to office is an innovation for which the public is not prepared, nor am I The art of governing consists simply of being honest, exercising common sense, following principle, and doing what is right and just. The art of life is the art of avoiding pain. The authors of the gospels were unlettered and ignorant men and the teachings of Jesus have come to us mutilated, misstated and unintelligible The basis of our government (is) is opinion of the people The basis of our government being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers wthout government, I should not hesita The beauty of the second amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it. The best principles of our republic secure to all its citizens a perfect equality of rights. The boisterous sea of liberty is never without a wave The bulk of mankind are schoolboys through life. The care of every man's soul belongs to himself. But what if he neglect the care of it? Well what if he neglect the care of his health or his estate, which would more nearly relate to the state. Will the magistrate make a law that he not be poor or sick? Laws provide against injury from others; but not from ourselves. God himself will not save men against their wills. The care of human life and happiness and not their destruction is the first and only legitimate object of good government. The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government. The cement of this union is the heart-blood of every American. The Christian God is a being of terrific character - cruel, vindictive, capricious, and unjust The Constitution of the United States is the result of the collected wisdom of our country The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus by the Supreme Being in the womb of a virgin, will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter. The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not. The execution of the laws is more important than the making them The flames kindled on the Fourth of July, 1776, have spread over too much of the globe to be extinguished by the feeble engines of despotism; on the contrary, they will consume these engines and all who work them. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted when permitted freely to be expressed. The agitation it produces must be submitted to. The freedom of the press is on of the great bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by a despotic government The glow of one warm thought is to me worth more than money. The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time; the hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them. The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time. The good opinion of mankind, like the lever of Archimedes, with the given fulcrum, moves the world. The Greeks by their laws, and the Romans by the spirit of their people, took care to put into the hands of their rulers no such engine of oppression as a standing army. Their system was to make every man a soldier, and oblige him to repair to the standard of his country whenever that was reared. This made them invincible; and the same remedy will make us so. The happiest moments my heart knows are those in which it is pouring forth its affections to a few esteemed characters. The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family. The happiness of the domestic fireside is the first boon of Heaven; and it is well it is so, since it is that which is the lot of the mass of mankind. The juries are our judges of all fact, and of law when they choose it. The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg. The liberty of speaking and writing guards our other liberties. The main objects of all science, the freedom and happiness of man.... [are] the sole objects of all legitimate government. The majority, oppressing an individual, is guilty of a crime, abuses its strength, and by acting on the law of the strongest breaks up the foundations of society. The man who fears no truth has nothing to fear from lies. The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers. The mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few to ride them. The moment a person forms a theory, his imagination sees in every object only the traits which favor that theory The most truthful part of a newspaper is the advertisements The most valuable of all talents is never using two words when one will do. The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do. The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground. The only purpose of government is to protect the people. The only way to win money out of a casino is to own one. The press is the best instrument for enlightening the mind of man, and improving him as a rational, moral and social being The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. The price of liberty is constant vigilance. The principles on which we engaged, of which the charter of our independence is the record, were sanctioned by the laws of our being, and we but obeyed them in pursuing undeviatingly the course they called for. It issued finally in that inestimable s The purse of the people is the real seat of sensibility. Let it be drawn upon largely, and they will then listen to truths which could not excite them through any other organ. The purse of the people is the real seat of sensibility. Let it be drawn upon largely, and they will then listen to truths which could not excite them through any other organ. The reason that Christianity is the best friend of government is because Christianity is the only religion that changes the heart. The republican is the only form of government which is not eternally at open or secret war with the rights of mankind The rights of human nature are deeply wounded by this infamous practice of slavery. The same prudence which in private life would forbid our paying our own money for unexplained projects, forbids it in the dispensation of the public moneys. The second office of this government is honorable & easy, the first is but a splendid misery. The selfish spirit of commerce knows no country, and feels no passion of principle but that of gain The sovereign invigorator of the body is exercise, and of all the exercises walking is the best. The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government. The sun has not caught me in bed in fifty years. The superiority of chocolate (hot chocolate), both for health and nourishment, will soon give it the same preference over tea and coffee in America which it has in Spain. . . The supreme end of education is expert discernment in all things--the power to tell the good from the bad, the genuine from the counterfeit, and to prefer the good and the genuine to the bad and the counterfeit. The tax which will be paid for the purpose of education 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 The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure. The tree of liberty must be watered periodically with the blood of tyrants and patriots alike. It is its natural manure. The truth is, that the greatest enemies of the doctrine of Jesus are those calling themselves the expositors of them, who have perverted them to the structure of a system of fancy absolutely incomprehensible, and without any foundation in His genuine words. The two principles on which our conduct towards the Indians should be founded, are justice and fear. After the injuries we have done them, they cannot love us. The way to silence religious disputes is to take no notice of them The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object. The wise know too well their weakness to assume infallibility; and he who knows most, knows best how little he knows The world is indebted for all triumphs which have been gained by reason and humanity over error and oppression. There is a natural aristocracy among men. The grounds of this are virtue and talents. There is no act, however virtuous, for which ingenuity may not find some bad motive. There is no truth existing which I fear, or would wish unknown to the whole world There is not a sprig of grass that shoots uninteresting to me. There is...an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents.... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government, and provisions should be made to prevent its ascendancy. They (preachers) dread the advance of science as witches do the approach of daylight and scowl on the fatal harbinger announcing the subversions of the duperies on which they live This institution will be based upon the illimitable freedom of the human mind. For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it. This is the Fourth? This should be a man's attitude: 'Few things will disturb him at all; nothing will disturb him much Though an old man I am but a young gardener. Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the boisterous sea of liberty To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical. To penetrate and dissipate these clouds of darkness, the general mind must be strengthened by education To preserve our independence... We must make our election between economy and liberty, or profusion and servitude. To preserve the freedom of the human mind then and freedom of the press, every spirit should be ready to devote itself to martyrdom; for as long as we may think as we will, and speak as we think, the condition of man will proceed in improvement Too old to plant trees for my own gratification, I shall do it for my posterity. Travelling makes a man wiser, but less happy. Truth is certainly a branch of morality and a very important one to society. Under the law of nature, all men are born free, every one comes into the world with a right to his own person, which includes the liberty of moving and using it at his own will. This is what is called personal liberty, and is given him by the Author Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very far. War is an instrument entirely inefficient toward redressing wrong; and multiplies, instead of indemnifying losses. We are endeavoring, too, to reduce the government to the practice of a rigorous economy, to avoid burdening the people, and arming the magistrate with a patronage of money, which might be used to corrupt and undermine the principles of our government. We are endeavoring, too, to reduce the government to the practice of a rigorous economy, to avoid burdening the people, and arming the magistrate with patronage of money, which might be used to corrupt and undermine the principles of our government We are firmly convinced, and we act on that conviction, that with nations as with individuals our interests soundly calculated will ever be found inseparable from our moral duties, and history bears witness to the fact that a just nation is trusted o We are not to expect to be translated from despotism to liberty in a feather bed We are not to expect to be translated from despotism to liberty in a featherbed. We confide in our strength, without boasting of it; we respect that of others, without fearing it. We discover (in the gospels) a groundwork of vulgar ignorance, of things impossible, of superstition, fanaticism and fabrication We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable; that all men are created equal and independent, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent and inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments ar We must be contented to amuse, when we cannot inform We must do our duty and convince the world that we are just friends and brave enemies We must train and classify the whole of our male citizens, and make military instruction a regular part of collegiate education. We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honour. Declaration of Independence Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. But I should mean that every man should receive those papers and be capable Were we directed from Washington when to sow, & when to reap, we should soon want bread. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure. Whatever enables us to go to war, secures our peace When angry count to ten before you speak. If very angry, count to one hundred. When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry, a hundred When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry, a hundred. When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry, an hundred. When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty. When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on. When [the moral sense] is wanting, we endeavor to supply the defect by education, by appeals to reason and calculation, by presenting to the being so unhappily conformed, other motives to do good and to eschew evil, such as the love, or the hatred, or the rejection of those among whom he lives, and whose society is necessary to his happiness and even existence; demonstrations by sound calculation that honesty promotes interest in the long run; the rewards and penalties established by the laws; and ultimately the prospects of a future state of retribution for the evil as well as the good done while here. These are the correctives which are supplied by education, and which exercise the functions of the moralist, the preacher, and legislator; and they lead into a course of correct action all those whose depravity is not too profound to be eradicated. Whenever a man has cast a longing eye on offices, a rottenness begins in his conduct. Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government... Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government; that whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights. Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government. Whenever you are to do a thing, though it can never be known but to yourself, ask yourself how you would act were all the world looking at you and act accordingly. Whenever you are to do a thing, though it can never be known but to yourself, ask yourself how you would act were the entire world looking at you, and act accordingly With your talents and industry, with science, and that stedfast honesty which eternally pursues right, regardless of consequences, you may promise yourself every thing-but health, without which there is no happiness. An attention to health then should take place of every other object. The time necessary to secure this by active exercises, should be devoted to it in preference to every other pursuit. Yet the hour of emancipation is advancing . . . this enterprise is for the young; for those who can follow it up, and bear it through to it's consummation. it shall have all my prayers, and these are the only weapons of an old man. You have not been mistaken in supposing my views and feeling to be in favor of the abolition of war. Of my dispos[i]tion to maintain peace until its condition shall be made less tolerable than that of war itself, the world has had proofs, and more, perhaps, than it has approved. I hope it is practicable, by improving the mind and morals of society, to lessen the dispos[i]tion to war; but of its abolition I despair. Your own reason is the only oracle given you by heaven, and you are answerable for, not the rightness, but the uprightness of the decision [A] lawyer without books would be like a workman without tools. [He wove those three threads into a talk ranging from annually spending a week at Halloween as a child collecting candy to giving candy to hundreds of children at Halloween as an adult; from childhood assistance he received from adults, particularly after his parents divorced, to saying] I challenge you to be a caring adult in someone's life ... Great times call forth great leaders.