Authors:

Thomas Jefferson Quotes - Page 52

All Quotes 4th Of July Abundance Abuse Accountability Acting Adoption Adversity Advertising Affection Age Ambition Architecture Army Art Atheism Atheist Attitude Authority Beer Bible Business Capitalism Caring Censorship Change Character Chemistry Children Choices Christianity Church Church And State Civil Rights College Common Sense Communication Community Compassion Confidence Constitution Cooking Corruption Country Creativity Crime Criticism Culture Death Deception Defeat Democracy Design Desire Determination Difficulty Doubt Drinking Duty Dying Earth Economy Education Effort Emancipation Energy Enthusiasm Environment Equality Ethics Evidence Evil Excellence Exercise Existence Of God Family Farming Fear Feelings Fighting Fitness Flattery Food Foreign Policy Freedom Freedom Of Speech Friendship Funny Genius Giving Giving Up God Grace Gratitude Greek Growth Happiness Hatred Health Heart Heaven History Home Honesty Honor Hope Horror House Human Nature Humanity Hypocrisy Ignorance Imagination Imperfection Independence Innovation Insanity Inspiration Inspirational Integrity Jesus Judging Justice Kindness Knowledge Labor Language Leadership Learning Leaving Liberty Life Loss Love Luck Lying Mankind Meetings Military Monarchy Money Monument Morality Morning Motivational Natural Rights Nature Obedience Observation Office Opportunity Oppression Pain Passion Past Patriotism Peace Perseverance Persuasion Philosophy Pleasure Politics Poverty Power Praise Prayer Prejudice Pride Progress Prosperity Prudence Purity Purpose Quality Reading Reality Rebellion Reflection Religion Religious Freedom Responsibility Retirement Revolution Risk Running Sacrifice Safety School Science Second Amendment Security Separation Separation Of Church And State Silence Silver Simplicity Sin Slavery Sleep Society Soul Speculation Sports Spring Strength Struggle Study Submission Success Suffering Teaching Time Today Trade Tranquility Trust Truth Tyranny Understanding Universe Values Victory Violence Virtue Volunteer Voting Wall War Water Weakness Wealth Wine Winning Wisdom Work Worship Writing Youth
I thank heaven that the 4th. of July is over. It is always a day of great fatigue to me, and of some embarrassments from improper intrusions and some from unintended exclusions.

I thank heaven that the 4th. of July is over. It is always a day of great fatigue to me, and of some embarrassments from improper intrusions and some from unintended exclusions.

Thomas Jefferson
4th Of July, Heaven, Exclusion

Laws ... proportionate and mild should never be dispensed with. Let mercy be the character of the law-giver, but let the judge be a mere machine.

Thomas Jefferson
Character, Law, Judging
Thomas Jefferson, Joyce Appleby, Terence Ball (1999). “Jefferson: Political Writings”, p.337, Cambridge University Press

But is an enemy so execrable that tho in captivity his wishes and comforts are to be disregarded and even crossed? I think not. It is for the benefit of mankind to mitigate the horrors of war as much as possible.

Thomas Jefferson
War, Thinking, Enemy
Thomas Jefferson, Brett F. Woods (2009). “Thomas Jefferson: Thoughts on War and Revolution”, p.14, Algora Publishing

I believe from what I have lately seen that we should be substantially safe were our Citizens Armed, but we have not as many Arms as we have Enemies in the State.

Thomas Jefferson
Believe, Enemy, Citizens
Thomas Jefferson (2010). “The Works of Thomas Jefferson: Notes on Virginia I, Correspondence, 1780 - 1782”, p.248, Cosimo, Inc.

I have now the gloomy prospect of retiring from office loaded with serious debts, which will materially affect the tranquility of my retirement.

Thomas Jefferson
Retirement, Office, Debt
Thomas Jefferson, Jerry Holmes (2002). “Thomas Jefferson: A Chronology of His Thoughts”, p.211, Rowman & Littlefield

There are other places at which ... the laws have said there shall be towns; but Nature has said there shall not, and they remain unworthy of enumeration.

Thomas Jefferson
Law, Towns, Said
Thomas Jefferson, Richard Holland Johnston, Thomas Jefferson Memorial Association of the United States “The Writings of Thomas Jefferson”

Our ancestors ... were laborers, not lawyers.

Thomas Jefferson
Lawyer, Ancestor, Laborers

The clergy believe that any power confided in me will be exerted in opposition to their schemes, and they believe rightly.

Thomas Jefferson
Believe, Clergy, Schemes
Letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush, September 23, 1800.

Sir, Your letter of the 15th is received, but Age has long since obliged me to withhold my mind from Speculations of the difficulty of those of your letter, that their are means of artificial buoyancy by which man may be supported in the Air, the Balloon has proved, and that means of directing it may be discovered is against no law of Nature and is therefore possible as in the case of Birds, but to do this by mechanical means alone in a medium so rare and unassisting as air must have the aid of some principal not yet generally known.

Thomas Jefferson
Mean, Men, Air

This is perhaps the most important statement on religion ever made. It clarified the intent of the founders of the constitution irrespective of the attempts of modern day religious revisionists.

Thomas Jefferson
Religious, Important, Constitution

Men possessing minds of the first order and who have had opportunities of being known and of acquiring the general confidence do not abound in any country beyond the wants of the country.

Thomas Jefferson
Country, Men, Opportunity
Thomas Jefferson (2010). “The Works of Thomas Jefferson, Vol. IX (in 12 Volumes)”, p.180, Cosimo, Inc.

Men of high learning and abilities are few in every country; and by taking in those who are not so, the able part of the body have their hands tied by the unable.

Thomas Jefferson
Country, Men, Hands
Thomas Jefferson, John Dewey (2008). “The Essential Jefferson”, p.47, Courier Corporation

Old heads as well as young may sometimes be charged with ignorance and presumption. The natural course of the human mind is certainly from credulity to skepticism.

Thomas Jefferson
Ignorance, Mind, May
Thomas Jefferson (1829). “Memoir, Correspondence, and Miscellanies: From the Papers of Thomas Jefferson”, p.94

It is to them I look, to the rising generation, and not to the one now in power, for these great reformations i.e., emancipation of slaves and settlement of the Virginia constitution on a firmer and more permanent basis.

Thomas Jefferson
Virginia, Looks, Rising

I leave the world and its affairs to the young and energetic, and resign myself to their care, of whom I have endeavored to take care when young.

Thomas Jefferson
Care, Inexperience, World
Thomas Jefferson (1854). “The Writings of Thomas Jefferson”, p.180

They are exactly the persons who are to succeed to the government of our country and to rule its future enmities, its friendships and fortunes.

Thomas Jefferson
Country, Government, Succeed
Thomas Jefferson, Henry Augustine Washington (1854). “The Writings of Thomas Jefferson: Correspondence, cont”, p.415

In a virtuous government, and more especially in times like these, public offices are what they should be - burdens to those appointed to them which it would be wrong to decline, though foreseen to bring them intense labor and great private loss.

Thomas Jefferson
Loss, Government, Times Like These
Thomas Jefferson (2004). “Light and Liberty: Reflections on the Pursuit of Happiness”, p.44, Modern Library

No person shall be capable of being a delegate for more than three years in any term of six.

Thomas Jefferson
Years, Political, Three
Thomas Jefferson (1961). “The American Beginnings: The Virginia Declaration of Rights; The Declaration of Independence, in Mr. Jefferson's Original Text, with Some of His Comments Thereon; the Articles of Confederation”

The Governor would serve a five-year term and be ineligible for reelection.

Thomas Jefferson
Years, Political, Term Limits

A schism has taken place among the chemists. A particular set of them in France have undertaken to remodel all the terms of the science, and to give every substance a new name, the composition, and especially the termination of which, shall define the relation in which it stands to other substances of the same family.

Thomas Jefferson
Taken, Science, Names
Thomas Jefferson (1829). “Memoirs, 2: Correspondence and Private Papers”, p.454

We have no paupers ... The great mass of our [United States] population is of laborers; our rich, who can live without labor, either manual or professional, being few, and of moderate wealth. Most of the laboring class possess property, cultivate their own lands, have families, and from the demand for their labor are enabled to exact from the rich and the competent such prices as enable them to be fed abundantly, clothed above mere decency, to labor moderately and raise their families. ... Can any condition of society be more desirable than this?

Thomas Jefferson
Land, Class, Demand

The patient, treated on the fashionable theory, sometimes gets well in spite of the medicine.

Thomas Jefferson
Get Well, Medicine, Patient
Thomas Jefferson (1854). “The Writings of Thomas Jefferson”, p.107

One of my favorite ideas is, never to keep an unnecessary soldier.

Thomas Jefferson
Ideas, Soldier, Unnecessary

It is true that in the meantime we are suffering deeply in spirit, and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public debt.

Thomas Jefferson
War, Long, Suffering
Thomas Jefferson, Joyce Appleby, Terence Ball (1999). “Jefferson: Political Writings”, p.420, Cambridge University Press

If we could believe that Jesus...countenanced the follies, falsehoods and charlatanisms which his biographers father on him, ...the conclusion would be irresistible...that he was an imposter.

Thomas Jefferson
Jesus, Father, Believe