Quotes by Thomas Jefferson

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I am convinced that the soul of every being rejoices when it does good.

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Laws and regulations must go hand in hand with the progress of the human soul.

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Concern for human life and happiness, and not for their destruction, is the first and only legitimate objective of good government.

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The living and abiding meaning of filial duty is sooner grasped by the mind of the son of his daughter from the reading of King Lear, than from the study of a hundred dull books of ethics and divine commandments.

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If principles prevail over legislation, then the government is completely broken.

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If I had a choice between having a government without newspapers or having newspapers without a government I would not hesitate to choose the second option.

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The tree of liberty must, from time to time, be sprinkled with the blood of patriots and tyrants. This is his natural fertilizer.

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Whenever I remember that God is just, I begin to tremble for my country.

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The whole art of leadership is the art of being honest.

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Laws are written for ordinary people, so they should be based on ordinary rules of common sense.

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We hold the following truths to be self-evident: that all men are equal; they are endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights; that these rights include life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

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No government can exist without censorship: where the press is free, no one is free.

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I agree with the idea that there is a natural aristocracy among people. Her foundations are virtue and talent.

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I prefer to be remembered by those things that I have done for others and not by those that others have done for me.

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I have not observed that people's honesty increases with wealth.

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The man who does not fear the truth has nothing to fear from the lie.

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A coward throws himself into a quarrel much more easily than a brave man does.

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Your own reason is the only oracle that heaven gives you, and you are not responsible for the justice, but for the sincerity of your decisions.

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Always strive to do your duty and humanity will reward you even if you fail.

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Sermons should be our lives, not our words.

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Politeness is the habit of sacrificing small comforts.

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Politeness is an artificially created good mood.

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In matters of style, go with the flow, in matters of principle, be firm as a rock.

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The beliefs and faith of men do not depend on their own will, but involuntarily submit to the evidence offered by their minds, according to which the almighty God created the mind free, and thus would have expressed his supreme desire that it should remain free, which is why made her absolutely unresponsive to restraint; all attempts to influence the mind by temporary punishments or burdens or deprivation of civil rights lead to the emergence of hypocritical habits and the commission of fraudulent acts….

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If you are angry, count to ten before you speak; if you're really angry, count to a hundred.

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The man who reads nothing is more educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.

"The American Indians had no laws, no punishments, and no government. They obeyed the moral understanding of good and evil that is part of every human nature."

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If the body is weak, the mind will not be strong.

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How much pain we were caused by the horrors that never happened!

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Be rock-solid in matters of principle; swim with the tide when it comes to taste!

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I consider big cities to be dangerous for one's morals, health and freedom.

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The masses of mankind were not born with saddles on their backs, nor were the lucky few with boots and spurs to ride the rest.

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It seems to me that the harder I work, the luckier I get.

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Priests of various religious sects... are as terrified of scientific progress as the devil is of holy water.

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A society that is willing to give up a little freedom in exchange for a little order deserves none.

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If a civilized nation wants to be both ignorant and free, it expects something that never existed and never will.

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When people fear the government, it is tyranny. When the government is afraid of the people, freedom is.

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Dare to question even the existence of God; for if there is a God, he will certainly value the respect of common sense more than the fear of the blind.

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The knowledge of the person to whom I give an idea increases without mine diminishing; just as my candle does not go out if someone else lights theirs with it.

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If the purpose of the usurpation of rights and abuses is to gain tyrannical power, and this intention becomes obvious to the people, the people have the right and duty to shake off such rule and entrust their fate and security to better guardians.

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The tree of freedom must be watered with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

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War is at least as much suffering for the avenger as it is for the sufferer.

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We take these truths as self-evident: that all men are created equal, and that their creator has endowed them with certain inalienable rights, among which are the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Governments have been set up by the people to ensure these rights, and these governments derive their power from the consent of the governed.

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There is no truth on earth that I fear to know.