Thomas Jeffers
on (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the third President of the United States (1801–1809). He was a spokesman for democracy and the rights of man with worldwide influence.
A leader in the Enlightenment, Jefferson was a polymath who spoke five languages fluently and was deeply interested in science, invention, architecture, religion and philosophy, interests that led him to the founding of the University of Virginia after his presidency.
Jefferson opposed slavery all his life in his speeches and writing; but he took little political action to emancipate slaves, owned hundreds of his own, and freed only a fraction of these in his life and will.
Though Jefferson has been criticized by many modern day scholars over the issue of slavery, he remains rated as one of the greatest U.S. presidents
I cannot live without books.
Honesty is the first chapter of the book wisdom.
The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.
On matters of style, swim with the current, on matters of principle, stand like a rock
I’m a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it
The Democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not
My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government
It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are 20 gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.
When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.
Information is the currency of democracy.
The purpose of government is to enable the people of a nation to live in safety and happiness. Government exists for the interests of the governed, not for the governors.
A room without books is like a life without meaning.
If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.
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.
One man with courage is a majority.
Educate and inform the whole mass of the people…they are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.
I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us that the less we use our power the greater it will be
Never put off for tomorrow, what you can do today.
Every Generation Needs a New Revolution
The most truthful part of a newspaper is the advertisements.
Every day is lost in which we do not learn something useful. Man has no nobler or more valuable possession than time.
Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.
How much pain have cost us the evils which have never happened
Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst, and cold.
Take things always by their smooth handle.
When angry, count ten, before you speak; if very angry, a hundred
I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.
There is nothing more unequal than the equal treatment of unequal people.
When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.
I was bold in the pursuit of knowledge, never fearing to follow truth and reason to whatever results they led.
I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.
He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it the second time
It is reasonable that everyone who asks justice should do justice
I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.
An honest man can feel no pleasure in the exercise of power over his fellow citizens
I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery.
A coward is much more exposed to quarrels than a man of spirit.
I believe that every human mind feels pleasure in doing good to another
Health, learning and virtue will ensure your happiness; they will give
you a quiet conscience, private esteem and public honour.
no people can be both ignorant and free
Where the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe.
The dead should not rule the living
I may grow rich by an art I am compelled to follow; I may recover health by medicines I am compelled to take against my own judgment; but I cannot be saved by a worship I disbelieve and abhor
Half a loaf is better than no bread
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.
He who knows best knows how little he knows.
Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and Romans, and must be that of every free state.
Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching.
Delay is preferable to error.
