Thomas Jefferson Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old Thomas Jefferson quotes, Thomas Jefferson sayings, and Thomas Jefferson proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.'

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. Thomas Jefferson
A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine. Thomas Jefferson
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
The darker the berry, the sweeter the juice. Thomas Jefferson
The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do. Thomas Jefferson
Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear. Thomas Jefferson
The equal rights of man, and the happiness of every individual, are now acknowledged to be the only legitimate objects of government. Thomas Jefferson
The First Amendment has created a wall of separation between the church and the State. But that wall is one directional. It is to keep the government from running the Church. But it is not to keep Christian principles out of the government. Thomas Jefferson
The soil is the gift of God to the living. Thomas Jefferson
Taste cannot be controlled by law. Thomas Jefferson
The same prudence which in private life would forbid our paying our own money for unexplained projects, forbids it in the dispensation of the public moneys. Thomas Jefferson
Delay is preferable to error. Thomas Jefferson
Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits. Thomas Jefferson
While the farmer holds the title to the land, actually it belongs to all the people because civilization itself rests upon the soil. Thomas Jefferson
The best defense of democracy is an informed electorate. Thomas Jefferson
Money, not morality, is the principle commerce of civilized nations. Thomas Jefferson
Never spend your money before you have earned it. 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
If the body be feeble, the mind will not be strong. Thomas Jefferson
A lottery is a salutary instrument and a tax... laid on the willing only, that is to say, on those who can risk the price of a ticket without sensible injury, for the possibility of a higher prize. Thomas Jefferson
Revenue on the consumption of foreign articles is paid cheerfully by those who can afford to add foreign luxuries to domestic comforts. Thomas Jefferson
It is in the love of one's family only that heartfelt happiness is known. Thomas Jefferson
Happiness is the aim of life. Virtue is the foundation of happiness. Utility is the test of virtue. If the wise be the happy man, as the sages say, he must be virtuous too; for without virtue, happiness cannot be. Thomas Jefferson
When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil. Thomas Jefferson
Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you. Thomas Jefferson
Bigotry is the disease of ignorance, of morbid minds; enthusiasm of the free and buoyant. education and free discussion are the antidotes of both. Thomas Jefferson
Experience demands that man is the only animal which devours his own kind, for I can apply no milder term to the general prey of the rich on the poor. Thomas Jefferson
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. Thomas Jefferson
The end of democracy and the defeat of the American Revolution will occur when government falls into the hands of lending institutions and moneyed incorporations. Thomas Jefferson
A friend dies or leaves us: we feel as if a limb was cut off. Thomas Jefferson