He who knows nothing is closer to the truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors. Thomas Jefferson More Quotes by Thomas Jefferson More Quotes From Thomas Jefferson Agriculture, manufactures, commerce, and navigation, the four pillars of our prosperity, are the most thriving when left most free to individual enterprise. Thomas Jefferson agriculturefourliberty Born in the same land, we ought to live as brothers, doing to each other all the good we can, and not listening to wicked men, who may endeavor to make us enemies. By living in peace, we can help and prosper one another; by waging war, we can kill and destroy many on both sides; but those who survive will not be the happier for that. Thomas Jefferson brotherwarpeace Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading. Thomas Jefferson reloadinggloriousmoments Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching. Thomas Jefferson motivationalinspirationallife 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. Thomas Jefferson exerciseeducationpeace No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever. Thomas Jefferson religiousmenfather A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of Life. Thomas Jefferson eiffel-towerparislessons To constrain the brute force of the people, the European governments deem it necessary to keep them down by hard labor, poverty and ignorance, and to take from them, as from bees, so much of their earnings, as that unremitting labor shall be necessary to obtain a sufficient surplus to sustain a scanty and miserable life. Thomas Jefferson governmentignorancepeople The suppression of unnecessary offices, of useless establishments and expenses enabled us to discontinue our internal taxes. These covering our land with officers, and opening our doors to their intrusions, had already begun that process of domiciliary vexation which, once entered, is scarcely to be restrained from reaching successively every article of produce and property. Thomas Jefferson officelanddoors The most sacred of the duties of a government [is] to do equal and impartial justice to all its citizens. Thomas Jefferson inalienable-rightsgovernmentjustice Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty. Thomas Jefferson 4th-of-julyfreedommen The true theory of our Constitution is surely the wisest and best, that the States are independent as to everything within themselves, and united as to everything respecting foreign affairs. Let the General Government be reduced to foreign concerns only, and let our affairs be disentangled from those of all other nations, except as to commerce, which the merchants will manage the better, the more they are left free to manage for themselves, and our General Government may be reduced to a very simple organization, and a very inexpensive one; a few plain duties to be performed by a few servants. Thomas Jefferson independentgovernmentsimple By a declaration of rights, I mean one which shall stipulate freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of commerce against monopolies, trial by juries in all cases, no suspensions of the habeas corpus, no standing armies. These are fetters against doing evil which no honest government should decline. Thomas Jefferson armyrightsmean In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own. Thomas Jefferson atheistreligiouscountry I wish it were possible to obtain a single amendment to our Constitution. I would be willing to depend on that alone for the reduction of the administration of our government; I mean an additional article taking from the Federal Government the power of borrowing. Thomas Jefferson politicalgovernmentmean I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Thomas Jefferson stormpresidentialpolitical Man is not made for the State but the State for man and it derives its just powers only from the consent of the governed. Thomas Jefferson statesmademen The whole art of government consists in the art of being honest. Thomas Jefferson honestygovernmentart Whenever a man has cast a longing eye on offices, a rottenness begins in his conduct. Thomas Jefferson officeeyemen A mind always employed is always happy. This is the true secret, the grand recipe, for felicity. Thomas Jefferson labor-daysecrethappiness
