Money, not morality, is the principle commerce of civilized nations. – Thomas Jefferson
Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty. – Thomas Jefferson
As our enemies have found we can reason like men, so now let us show them we can fight like men also. – Thomas Jefferson
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. – Thomas Jefferson
I have no ambition to govern men it is a painful and thankless office. – Thomas Jefferson
There is a natural aristocracy among men. The grounds of this are virtue and talents. – Thomas Jefferson
Politics is such a torment that I advise everyone I love not to mix with it. – Thomas Jefferson
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. – Thomas Jefferson
He who knows nothing is closer to the truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors. – Thomas Jefferson
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. – Thomas Jefferson
The glow of one warm thought is to me worth more than money. – Thomas Jefferson
The moment a person forms a theory, his imagination sees in every object only the traits which favor that theory. – Thomas Jefferson
I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us, that the less we use our power the greater it will be. – Thomas Jefferson
One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to have occasion for them. – Thomas Jefferson
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. – Thomas Jefferson
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. – Thomas Jefferson
It is neither wealth nor splendor but tranquility and occupation which give you happiness. – Thomas Jefferson
The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive. – Thomas Jefferson
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. – Thomas Jefferson
History, in general, only informs us of what bad government is. – Thomas Jefferson
