The art of life is the art of avoiding pain; and he is the best pilot, who steers clearest of the rocks and shoals with which it is beset. – Thomas Jefferson
If we can but prevent the government from wasting the labours of the people, under the pretence of taking care of them, they must become happy. – Thomas Jefferson
It is more dangerous that even a guilty person should be punished without the forms of law than that he should escape. – Thomas Jefferson
The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground. – Thomas Jefferson
It should be a pleasure to the appreciative reader, while recognizing their beauty, to cull these flowers of thought for the benefit of those who, less fortunate than himself, have not the time to indulge in literary pleasures. – Maturin M. Ballou, January 1886, preface to Edge-Tools of Speech