I have no ambition to govern men. It is a painful and thankless office

Reading, reflection and time have convinced me that the interests of society require the observation of those moral precepts only in which all religions agree (for all forbid us to steal, murder, plunder, or bear...

That peace, safety, and concord may be the portion of our native land, and be long enjoyed by our fellow-citizens, is the most ardent wish of my heart, and if I can be instrumental in...

Politics are such a torment that I would advise every one I love not to mix with them.

We confide in our strength, without boasting of it, we respect that of others, without fearing it.

‎We must make our choice between economy and liberty or confusion and servitude…If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and comforts, in our labor...

Difference of opinion is advantageous in religion. The several sects perform the office of a Censor morum over each other. Is uniformity attainable? Millions of innocent men, women, and children, since the introduction of Christianity,...

Never spend your money before you have earned it.

He who knows nothing is closer to the truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors.

That government is the strongest of which every man feels himself a part.

It is in our lives and not our words that our religion must be read.

I consider him [Alexander von Humboldt] the most important scientist whom I have met.

When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.

Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.

A nation as a society forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society

Let common sense and common honesty have fair play, and they will soon set things to rights.

Freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of person under the protection of the habeas corpus; and trial by juries impartially selected, – these principles form the bright constellation which has gone before us

Tranquility is the old man’s milk

I have but one system of ethics for men and for nations – to be grateful, to be faithful to all engagements under all circumstances, to be open and generous, promoting in the long run...

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. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health...

I was bold in the pursuit of knowledge, never fearing to follow truth and reason to whatever results they led.

…We are all Federalists,and we are all Republicans.

…it is not to be understood that I am with him [Jesus] in all his doctrines. I am a Materialist, he takes the side of spiritualism; he preaches the efficacy of repentance toward forgiveness of...

Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia.[Epitaph, upon his instructions to erect a ‘a plain...

I sincerely believe… that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies.

When a man assumes a public trust he should consider himself a public property.

Peace and friendship with all mankind is our wisest policy, and I wish we may be permitted to pursue it.

Always take hold of things by the smooth handle.

Whenever you are to do a thing, though it can never be known but to yourself, ask yourself how you would act were all the world looking at you, and act accordingly.

I had laid it down as a law for my conduct while in office, and hitherto scrupulously observed, to accept of no present beyond a book, a pamphlet, or other curiosity of minor value; as...

Laws are made for men of ordinary understanding and should, therefore, be construed by the ordinary rules of common sense. Their meaning is not to be sought for in metaphysical subtleties which may make anything...

One single object…[will merit] the endless gratitude of the society: that of restraining the judges from usurping legislation.

The truth is, that the greatest enemies of the doctrine of Jesus are those calling themselves the expositors of them, who have perverted them to the structure of a system of fancy absolutely incomprehensible, and...

Taste cannot be controlled by law

The sovereign invigorator of the body is exercise, and of all the exercises walking is the best.

I find the pain of a little censure, even when it is unfounded, is more acute than the pleasure of much praise.

Everything yields to diligence

I know 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...

Bigotry is the disease of ignorance, of morbid minds; enthusiasm of the free and buoyant. Education and free discussion are the antidotes of both. We are destined to be a barrier against the returns of...

Commerce with all nations, alliance with none, should be our motto.

Altho’ I rarely waste time in reading on theological subjects, as mangled by our Pseudo-Christians, yet I can readily suppose Basanistos may be amusing. Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible...

I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us, that the less we use our power the greater it will be.

Don’t talk about what you have done or what you are going to do.

The natural cause of the human mind is certainly from credulity to skepticism.

We did not raise armies for glory or for conquest.

Every generation needs a new revolution.

The beauty of the second amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it.

A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high virtues of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when...

Religions are all alike — founded on fables and mythologies

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.