Thomas Jefferson Quotes (427 Quotes)

Politics, like religion, hold up torches of martyrdom to the reformers of error

One travels more usefully when alone, because he reflects more.

A superintending power to maintain the Universe in its course and order.

The moment a person forms a theory, his imagination sees in every object only the traits which favor that theory.

Common sense is the foundation of all authorities, of the laws themselves, and of their construction.

The earth belongs to the living, not to the dead.

We prefer war in all cases to tribute under any form and to any people whatever

... the science of calculation also is indispensable as far as the extraction of the square and cube roots Algebra as far as the quadratic equation and the use of logarithms are often of value in ordinary cases but all beyond these is but a luxury a delicious luxury indeed but not to be in indulged in by one who is to have a profession to follow for his subsistence.

Errors of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it.

Bigotry is the disease of ignorance, of morbid minds enthusiasm of the free and buoyant. education and free discussion are the antidotes of both.

I do not take a single newspaper, nor read one a month, and I feel myself infinitely the happier for it.

History, in general, only informs us of what bad government is.

Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

Leave no authority existing not responsible to the people.

May it be to the world... to assume the blessings and security of self-government.

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

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.

When angry, count ten before you speak if very angry, count a hundred.

All persons shall have full and free liberty of religious opinion nor shall any be compelled to frequent or maintain any religious institution

Thomas Jeffersons Decalogue of Canons IX. Take things always by their smooth handle.

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.

No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.

To penetrate and dissipate these clouds of darkness, the general mind must be strengthened by education.

War is an instrument entirely inefficient toward redressing wrong; and multiplies, instead of indemnifying losses.

Good humor is one of the preservatives of our peace and tranquility

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

No freeman shall be debarred the use of arms.

It is unfortunate for our peace, that unmerited abuse wounds, while unmerited praise has not the power to heal.

The man who would choose security over freedom deserves neither.

The art of life is the art of avoiding pain.

A mind always employed is always happy. This is the true secret, the grand recipe, for felicity.

When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.

Whatever enables us to go to war, secures our peace

A good cause is often injured more by ill-timed efforts of its friends than by the arguments of its enemies. Persuasion, perseverance and patience are the best advocates on questions depending on the will of others.

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.

The sovereign invigorator of the body is exercise, and of all the exercises walking is the best.

We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable that all men are created equal and independent, that from that equal creation they derive fights inherent and inalienable, among which are the preservation of life and liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

To every obstacle oppose patience, perseverance and soothing language.

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.

The efforts of certain Christian factions to cast themselves as the inheritors of America's Judaeo-Christian tradition find little support in the embarrassing heterodoxy of this Founding Father 'But the greatest of all reformers of the depraved religion of his own country was Jesus of Nazareth. Abstracting what is really his from the rubbish in which it is buried, easily distinguished by its lustre from the dross of his biographers, and as separable as the diamond from the dunghill, we have the outlines of a system of the most sublime morality which has ever fallen from the lips of man outlines which it is lamentable he did not live to fill up. . . . The establishment of the innocent and genuine character of this benevolent moralist, and the rescuing it from the imputation of imposture, which has resulted from artificial systems, invented by ultra-Christian sects, unauthorized by a single word ever uttered by him, is a most desirable object. . . .'

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.

The only thing a man can take beyond this lifetime is his ethics.

Truth is certainly a branch of morality and a very important one to society.

Be polite to all, but intimate with few.

The loss of the battle of Waterloo was the salvation of France

My creed had been formed on unsheathing the sword at Lexington

The Bible is the cornerstone of liberty. . . . Students' perusal of the sacred volume will make us better citizens, better fathers, and better husbands.

It is always better to have no ideas than false ones; to believe nothing, than to believe what is wrong.

I think with the Romans, that the general of today should be a soldier tomorrow if necessary.