Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, in Shadwell, Virginia, United States. He served as the third U.S. President from 1801 to 1809. He was also an architect, lawyer, diplomat, statesman, and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. He also championed religious freedom, founded the University of Virginia, and was an avid inventor. May these Thomas Jefferson quotes and sayings offer you insights that will inspire action, foster self-reflection, and encourage a balanced life.
1. “Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.” – Thomas Jefferson
2. “Honesty is the first chapter of the book wisdom.” – Thomas Jefferson
3. “The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.” – Thomas Jefferson
4. “The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.” – Thomas Jefferson
5. “On matters of style, swim with the current, on matters of principle, stand like a rock.” – Thomas Jefferson
6. “I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.” – Thomas Jefferson
7. “I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.” – Thomas Jefferson
8. “Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances.” – Thomas Jefferson
9. “Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.” – Thomas Jefferson
-min.jpg "Famous quotes and sayings by Thomas Jefferson")
10. “If you want something you've never had, you must be willing to do something you've never done.” – Thomas Jefferson
11. “I think one travels more usefully when they travel alone, because they reflect more.” – Thomas Jefferson
12. “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
13. “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.” – Thomas Jefferson
14. “Do not bite at the bait of pleasure until you know there is no hook beneath it.” – Thomas Jefferson
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15. “Every day is lost in which we do not learn something useful. Man has no nobler or more valuable possession than time.” – Thomas Jefferson
16. “There is nothing more unequal than the equal treatment of unequal people.” – Thomas Jefferson
17. “Be polite to all, but intimate with few.” – Thomas Jefferson
18. “He who knows nothing is closer to the truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors.” – Thomas Jefferson
19. “Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppression of the body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day.” – Thomas Jefferson
-min.jpg "Famous quotes and sayings by Thomas Jefferson")
20. “Every human being must be viewed according to what it is good for. For not one of us, no, not one, is perfect. And were we to love none who had imperfection, this world would be a desert for our love.” – Thomas Jefferson
21. “He who knows best knows how little he knows.” – Thomas Jefferson
22. “A great deal of love given to a few is better than a little to many.” – Thomas Jefferson
23. “Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.” – Thomas Jefferson
24. “It is reasonable that everyone who asks justice should do justice.” – Thomas Jefferson
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25. “Ignorance is preferable to error, and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing than he who believes what is wrong.” – Thomas Jefferson
26. “Always take hold of things by the smooth handle.” – Thomas Jefferson
27. “Do not be too severe upon the errors of the people, but reclaim them by enlightening them.” – Thomas Jefferson
28. “Everything yields to diligence.” – Thomas Jefferson
29. “The dead should not rule the living.” – Thomas Jefferson
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30. “But every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle.” – Thomas Jefferson
More Best Thomas Jefferson Quotes about Life
31. “When the subject is strong, simplicity is the only way to treat it.” – Thomas Jefferson
32. “Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst, and cold.” – Thomas Jefferson
33. “A little rebellion is good now and then.” – Thomas Jefferson
34. “I believe that every human mind feels pleasure in doing good to another.” – Thomas Jefferson
35. “I find friendship to be like wine, raw when new, ripened with age, the true old man's milk and restorative cordial.” – Thomas Jefferson
36. “The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family.” – Thomas Jefferson
37. “It is neither wealth nor splendor, but tranquility and occupation which give happiness.” – Thomas Jefferson
38. “A coward is much more exposed to quarrels than a man of spirit.” – Thomas Jefferson
39. “Those who expect to be both ignorant and free, expect what never was and never will be.” – Thomas Jefferson
40. “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” – Thomas Jefferson
41. “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.” – Thomas Jefferson
42. “The glow of one warm thought is to me worth more than money.” – Thomas Jefferson
43. “I find as I grow older, I love those most, whom I loved first.” – Thomas Jefferson
44. “Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching.” – Thomas Jefferson
45. “The most fortunate of us, in our journey through life, frequently meet with calamities and misfortunes which may greatly afflict us; and, to fortify our minds against the attacks of these calamities and misfortunes, should be one of the principal studies and endeavors of our lives.” – Thomas Jefferson
46. “Too old to plant trees for my own gratification, I shall do it for my posterity.” – Thomas Jefferson
47. “Self-love is no part of morality. Indeed it is exactly its counterpart. It is the sole antagonist of virtue leading us constantly by our propensities to self-gratification in violation of our moral duties to others.” – Thomas Jefferson
48. “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
49. “Half a loaf is better than no bread.” – Thomas Jefferson
50. “Never spend your money before you have it.” – Thomas Jefferson
51. “I never will, by any word or act, bow to the shrine of intolerance or admit a right of inquiry into the religious opinions of others.” – Thomas Jefferson
52. “The equal rights of man, and the happiness of every individual, are now acknowledged to be the only legitimate objects of government.” – Thomas Jefferson
53. “It is while we are young that the habit of industry is formed. If not then, it never is afterward.” – Thomas Jefferson
54. “Leave all the afternoon for exercise and recreation, which are as necessary as reading. I will rather say more necessary because health is worth more than learning.” – Thomas Jefferson
55. “The opinions and beliefs of men follow involuntarily the evidence proposed to their minds.” – Thomas Jefferson
56. “One man with courage is a majority.” – Thomas Jefferson
57. “I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery.” – Thomas Jefferson
58. “Peace and friendship with all mankind is our wisest policy, and I wish we may be permitted to pursue it.” – Thomas Jefferson
59. “I have no ambition to govern men; it is a painful and thankless office.” – Thomas Jefferson
60. “When angry count to ten before you speak. If very angry, count to one hundred.” – Thomas Jefferson
61. “We confide in our strength, without boasting of it; we respect that of others, without fearing it.” – Thomas Jefferson
62. “The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government.” – Thomas Jefferson
63. “Laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the general progress of the human mind.” – Thomas Jefferson
64. “Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.” – Thomas Jefferson
65. “Money, not morality, is the principle commerce of civilized nations.” – Thomas Jefferson
66. “When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.” – Thomas Jefferson
67. “We never repent of having eaten too little.” – Thomas Jefferson
68. “To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.” – Thomas Jefferson
69. “Educate and inform the whole mass of the people. They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.” – Thomas Jefferson
70. “When a man assumes a public trust, he should consider himself a public property.” – Thomas Jefferson
71. “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
72. “Only aim to do your duty, and mankind will give you credit where you fail.” – Thomas Jefferson
73. “There is no act, however virtuous, for which ingenuity may not find some bad motive.” – Thomas Jefferson
74. “My principle is to do whatever is right, and leave consequences to him who has the disposal of them.” – Thomas Jefferson
75. “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.” – Thomas Jefferson
76. “All should be laid open to you without reserve, for there is not a truth existing which I fear, or would wish unknown to the whole world.” – Thomas Jefferson
77. “I had rather be shut up in a very modest cottage with my books, my family and a few old friends, dining on simple bacon, and letting the world roll on as it liked, than to occupy the most splendid post, which any human power can give.” – Thomas Jefferson
78. “Science is my passion; politics, my duty.” – Thomas Jefferson
79. “I agree with you that it is the duty of every good citizen to use all the opportunities, which occur to him, for preserving documents relating to the history of our country.” – Thomas Jefferson
80. “Don't talk about what you have done or what you are going to do.” – Thomas Jefferson
81. “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” – Thomas Jefferson
82. “I'm a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.” – Thomas Jefferson
83. “When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.” – Thomas Jefferson
84. “The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.” – Thomas Jefferson
85. “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” – Thomas Jefferson
86. “If you want something you have never had, you must be willing to do something you have never done.” – Thomas Jefferson
87. “An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people.” – Thomas Jefferson
88. “I would rather be judged by twelve farmers than twelve scholars.” – Thomas Jefferson
89. “A government big enough to give you everything you want, is a government big enough to take away everything that you have.” – Thomas Jefferson
90. “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” – Thomas Jefferson
Share these Famous Quotes by Thomas Jefferson with your friends, family, and loved ones to inspire them as well.
2. “Honesty is the first chapter of the book wisdom.” – Thomas Jefferson
3. “The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.” – Thomas Jefferson
4. “The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.” – Thomas Jefferson
5. “On matters of style, swim with the current, on matters of principle, stand like a rock.” – Thomas Jefferson
6. “I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.” – Thomas Jefferson
7. “I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.” – Thomas Jefferson
8. “Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances.” – Thomas Jefferson
9. “Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.” – Thomas Jefferson
11. “I think one travels more usefully when they travel alone, because they reflect more.” – Thomas Jefferson
12. “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
13. “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.” – Thomas Jefferson
14. “Do not bite at the bait of pleasure until you know there is no hook beneath it.” – Thomas Jefferson
16. “There is nothing more unequal than the equal treatment of unequal people.” – Thomas Jefferson
17. “Be polite to all, but intimate with few.” – Thomas Jefferson
18. “He who knows nothing is closer to the truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors.” – Thomas Jefferson
19. “Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppression of the body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day.” – Thomas Jefferson
21. “He who knows best knows how little he knows.” – Thomas Jefferson
22. “A great deal of love given to a few is better than a little to many.” – Thomas Jefferson
23. “Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.” – Thomas Jefferson
24. “It is reasonable that everyone who asks justice should do justice.” – Thomas Jefferson
26. “Always take hold of things by the smooth handle.” – Thomas Jefferson
27. “Do not be too severe upon the errors of the people, but reclaim them by enlightening them.” – Thomas Jefferson
28. “Everything yields to diligence.” – Thomas Jefferson
29. “The dead should not rule the living.” – Thomas Jefferson
More Best Thomas Jefferson Quotes about Life
31. “When the subject is strong, simplicity is the only way to treat it.” – Thomas Jefferson
32. “Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst, and cold.” – Thomas Jefferson
33. “A little rebellion is good now and then.” – Thomas Jefferson
34. “I believe that every human mind feels pleasure in doing good to another.” – Thomas Jefferson
35. “I find friendship to be like wine, raw when new, ripened with age, the true old man's milk and restorative cordial.” – Thomas Jefferson
36. “The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family.” – Thomas Jefferson
37. “It is neither wealth nor splendor, but tranquility and occupation which give happiness.” – Thomas Jefferson
38. “A coward is much more exposed to quarrels than a man of spirit.” – Thomas Jefferson
39. “Those who expect to be both ignorant and free, expect what never was and never will be.” – Thomas Jefferson
40. “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” – Thomas Jefferson
41. “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.” – Thomas Jefferson
42. “The glow of one warm thought is to me worth more than money.” – Thomas Jefferson
43. “I find as I grow older, I love those most, whom I loved first.” – Thomas Jefferson
44. “Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching.” – Thomas Jefferson
45. “The most fortunate of us, in our journey through life, frequently meet with calamities and misfortunes which may greatly afflict us; and, to fortify our minds against the attacks of these calamities and misfortunes, should be one of the principal studies and endeavors of our lives.” – Thomas Jefferson
46. “Too old to plant trees for my own gratification, I shall do it for my posterity.” – Thomas Jefferson
47. “Self-love is no part of morality. Indeed it is exactly its counterpart. It is the sole antagonist of virtue leading us constantly by our propensities to self-gratification in violation of our moral duties to others.” – Thomas Jefferson
48. “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
49. “Half a loaf is better than no bread.” – Thomas Jefferson
50. “Never spend your money before you have it.” – Thomas Jefferson
51. “I never will, by any word or act, bow to the shrine of intolerance or admit a right of inquiry into the religious opinions of others.” – Thomas Jefferson
52. “The equal rights of man, and the happiness of every individual, are now acknowledged to be the only legitimate objects of government.” – Thomas Jefferson
53. “It is while we are young that the habit of industry is formed. If not then, it never is afterward.” – Thomas Jefferson
54. “Leave all the afternoon for exercise and recreation, which are as necessary as reading. I will rather say more necessary because health is worth more than learning.” – Thomas Jefferson
55. “The opinions and beliefs of men follow involuntarily the evidence proposed to their minds.” – Thomas Jefferson
56. “One man with courage is a majority.” – Thomas Jefferson
57. “I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery.” – Thomas Jefferson
58. “Peace and friendship with all mankind is our wisest policy, and I wish we may be permitted to pursue it.” – Thomas Jefferson
59. “I have no ambition to govern men; it is a painful and thankless office.” – Thomas Jefferson
60. “When angry count to ten before you speak. If very angry, count to one hundred.” – Thomas Jefferson
61. “We confide in our strength, without boasting of it; we respect that of others, without fearing it.” – Thomas Jefferson
62. “The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government.” – Thomas Jefferson
63. “Laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the general progress of the human mind.” – Thomas Jefferson
64. “Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.” – Thomas Jefferson
65. “Money, not morality, is the principle commerce of civilized nations.” – Thomas Jefferson
66. “When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.” – Thomas Jefferson
67. “We never repent of having eaten too little.” – Thomas Jefferson
68. “To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.” – Thomas Jefferson
69. “Educate and inform the whole mass of the people. They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.” – Thomas Jefferson
70. “When a man assumes a public trust, he should consider himself a public property.” – Thomas Jefferson
71. “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
72. “Only aim to do your duty, and mankind will give you credit where you fail.” – Thomas Jefferson
73. “There is no act, however virtuous, for which ingenuity may not find some bad motive.” – Thomas Jefferson
74. “My principle is to do whatever is right, and leave consequences to him who has the disposal of them.” – Thomas Jefferson
75. “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.” – Thomas Jefferson
76. “All should be laid open to you without reserve, for there is not a truth existing which I fear, or would wish unknown to the whole world.” – Thomas Jefferson
77. “I had rather be shut up in a very modest cottage with my books, my family and a few old friends, dining on simple bacon, and letting the world roll on as it liked, than to occupy the most splendid post, which any human power can give.” – Thomas Jefferson
78. “Science is my passion; politics, my duty.” – Thomas Jefferson
79. “I agree with you that it is the duty of every good citizen to use all the opportunities, which occur to him, for preserving documents relating to the history of our country.” – Thomas Jefferson
80. “Don't talk about what you have done or what you are going to do.” – Thomas Jefferson
81. “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” – Thomas Jefferson
82. “I'm a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.” – Thomas Jefferson
83. “When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.” – Thomas Jefferson
84. “The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.” – Thomas Jefferson
85. “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” – Thomas Jefferson
86. “If you want something you have never had, you must be willing to do something you have never done.” – Thomas Jefferson
87. “An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people.” – Thomas Jefferson
88. “I would rather be judged by twelve farmers than twelve scholars.” – Thomas Jefferson
89. “A government big enough to give you everything you want, is a government big enough to take away everything that you have.” – Thomas Jefferson
90. “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” – Thomas Jefferson
Share these Famous Quotes by Thomas Jefferson with your friends, family, and loved ones to inspire them as well.