YUKS
Quotes page 15
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas
Jefferson
Said:
A Bill of Rights is what the people are entitled to
against every government, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on
inference.
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 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.
Advertisements
contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper.
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 law must protect, and to
violate would be oppression.
Always take
hold of things by the smooth handle.
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 injured
friend is the bitterest of foes.
As our enemies
have found we can reason like men, so now let us show them we can fight like men
also.
Banking
establishments are more dangerous than standing armies.
Be polite to
all, but intimate with few.
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 friendship
is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a
benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine.
Commerce with
all nations, alliance with none, should be our motto.
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.
Difference of
opinion is advantageous in religion. The several sects perform the office of a
Censor - over each other.
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.
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.
Errors of
opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it.
Every citizen
should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and Romans, and must be
that of every free state.
Every
generation needs a new revolution.
Every
government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The
people themselves are its only safe depositories.
Experience
demands that man is the only animal which devours his own kind, for I can apply
no milder term to the general prey of the rich on the poor.
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.
Fix reason
firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal 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.
For a people
who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is
their best security.
Force is the
vital principle and immediate parent of despotism.
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?
Happiness is
not being pained in body or troubled in mind.
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.
History, in
general, only informs us of what bad government is.
Honesty is the
first chapter in the book of wisdom.
How much pain
they have cost us, the evils which have never happened.
I abhor war and
view it as the greatest scourge of mankind.
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 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 believe that
every human mind feels pleasure in doing good to another.
I cannot live
without books.
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 that he
is happiest of whom the world says least, good or bad.
I find that the
harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.
I have no
ambition to govern men; it is a painful and thankless office.
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 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 sworn
upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the
mind of man.
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
crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already
to challenge our government to a trial by strength, and bid defiance to the laws
of our country.
I know of 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.
I like the
dreams of the future better than the history of the past.
I never
considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as
cause for withdrawing from a friend.
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 own that I am
not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive.
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 sincerely
believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and
that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of
funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.
I think with
the Romans, that the general of today should be a soldier tomorrow if necessary.
I tremble for
my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep
forever.
I was bold in
the pursuit of knowledge, never fearing to follow truth and reason to whatever
results they led, and bearding every authority which stood in their way.
I would rather
be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending
too small a degree of it.
I would rather
be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those
attending too small a degree of it.
I'm a great
believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.
If a nation
expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what
never was and never will be.
If God is just,
I tremble for my country.
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 is one
principle more deeply rooted in the mind of every American, it is that we should
have nothing to do with conquest.
Ignorance is
preferable to error, and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing
than he who believes what is wrong.
In every
country and every age, the priest had been hostile to Liberty.
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.
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 always
better to have no ideas than false ones; to believe nothing, than to believe
what is wrong.
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
dangerous that even a guilty person should be punished without the forms of law
than that he should escape.
It is neither
wealth nor splendor; but tranquility and occupation which give you happiness.
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.
It takes time
to persuade men to do even what is for their own good.
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.
Leave no
authority existing not responsible to the people.
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.
Mankind are
more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by
abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
Merchants have
no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an
attachment as that from which they draw their gains.
Money, not
morality, is the principle commerce of civilized nations.
My only fear is
that I may live too long. This would be a subject of dread to me.
My reading of
history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.
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.
Never put off
till tomorrow what you can do today.
Never spend
your money before you have earned it.
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 will
ever carry out of the Presidency the reputation which carried him into it.
No occupation
is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to
that of the garden.
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
one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled
under all circumstances.
Nothing is
unchangeable but the inherent and unalienable rights of man.
One man with
courage is a majority.
One travels
more usefully when alone, because he reflects more.
Only aim to do
your duty, and mankind will give you credit where you fail.
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 greatest
happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed
us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and
freedom in all just pursuits.
Peace and
abstinence from European interferences are our objects, and so will continue
while the present order of things in America remain uninterrupted.
Peace and
friendship with all mankind is our wisest policy, and I wish we may be permitted
to pursue it.
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.
Power is not
alluring to pure minds.
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.
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.
So confident am
I in the intentions, as well as wisdom, of the government, that I shall always
be satisfied that what is not done, either cannot, or ought not to be done.
Sometimes it is
said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then be
trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the form of
kings to govern him? Let history answer this question.
Speeches that
are measured by the hour will die with the hour.
Taste cannot be
controlled by law.
That government
is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves.
That government
is the strongest of which every man feels himself a part.
The
advertisement is the most truthful part of a newspaper.
The boisterous
sea of liberty is never without a wave.
The care of
human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only
object of good government.
The Creator has
not thought proper to mark those in the forehead who are of stuff to make good
generals. We are first, therefore, to seek them blindfold, and then let them
learn the trade at the expense of great losses.
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 earth
belongs to the living, not to the dead.
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 man who
reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but
newspapers.
The moment a
person forms a theory, his imagination sees in every object only the tracts
which favor that theory.
The moment a
person forms a theory, his imagination sees in every object only the traits
which favor that theory.
The most
successful war seldom pays for its losses.
The natural
cause of the human mind is certainly from credulity to skepticism.
The natural
progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.
The republican
is the only form of government which is not eternally at open or secret war with
the rights of mankind.
The second
office in the government is honorable and easy; the first is but a splendid
misery.
The spirit of
resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to
be always kept alive.
The spirit of
this country is totally adverse to a large military force.
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 tree of
liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and
tyrants.
The way to
silence religious disputes is to take no notice of them.
The whole
commerce between master and slave is a perpetual exercise of the most boisterous
passions, the most unremitting despotism on the one part, and degrading
submissions on the other. Our children see this, and learn to imitate it.
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 not a
sprig of grass that shoots uninteresting to me.
There is not a
truth existing which I fear... or would wish unknown to the whole world.
Timid men
prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.
To compel a man
to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is
sinful and tyrannical.
To compel a man
to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and
abhors is sinful and tyrannical.
To penetrate
and dissipate these clouds of darkness, the general mind must be strengthened by
education.
Truth is
certainly a branch of morality and a very important one to society.
Walking is the
best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very fast.
War is an
instrument entirely inefficient toward redressing wrong; and multiplies, instead
of indemnifying losses.
We are not to
expect to be translated from despotism to liberty in a featherbed.
We did not
raise armies for glory or for conquest.
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.
We may consider
each generation as a distinct nation, with a right, by the will of its majority,
to bind themselves, but none to bind the succeeding generation, more than the
inhabitants of another country.
We never repent
of having eaten too little.
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 a man
assumes a public trust he should consider himself a public property.
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, an hundred.
When the people
fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people,
there is liberty.
When we get
piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt
as Europe.
When you reach
the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.
Whenever a man
has cast a longing eye on offices, a rottenness begins in his conduct.
Whenever the
people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government.
Whenever you do
a thing, act as if all the world were watching.
Where the press
is free and every man able to read, all is safe.
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