Thomas Jefferson Quotes
The whole art of government consists in the art of being honest.
Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.
When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.
Men are disposed to live honestly, if the means of doing so are open to them.
Religions are all alike - founded upon fables and mythologies.
Always take hold of things by the smooth handle.
It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself.
Motherhood is the keystone of the arch of matrimonial happiness.
Delay is preferable to error.
A coward is much more exposed to quarrels than a man of spirit.
One man with courage is a majority.
When a man assumes a public trust he should consider himself a public property.
Where the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe.
Only aim to do your duty, and mankind will give you credit where you fail.
Conquest is not in our principles. It is inconsistent with our government.
Be polite to all, but intimate with few.
I like dreams of the future better than the history of the past.
Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching.
An enemy generally says and believes what he wishes.
A free people claim their rights, as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate.
Do not bite at the bait of pleasure, till you know there is no hook beneath it.
As our enemies have found we can reason like men, so now let us show them we can fight like men also.
The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family.
I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us, that the less we use our power the greater it will be.
When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty.
To penetrate and dissipate these clouds of darkness, the general mind must be strengthened by education.
I hold it, that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.
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.
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.
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 the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government.
It is our duty still to endeavor to avoid war; but if it shall actually take place, no matter by whom brought on, we must defend ourselves. If our house be on fire, without inquiring whether it was fired from within or without, we must try to extinguish it.
Let the eye of vigilance never be closed.
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 was been the effect of coercion? To make one half of the world fools and the other half hypocrites.
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 your constant companion of your walks.
