50+ Noteworthy Thomas Jefferson Quotes

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50+ Noteworthy Thomas Jefferson Quotes

The United States of America owes a lot to Thomas Jefferson, who is one of the most iconic figures of individual rights and democracy. This article will boast of all the noteworthy and iconic Thomas Jefferson quotes there are, that will make you feel proud to be an American.

Just like Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, Thomas Jefferson was one of the key figures in the successful American Revolution against the British empire. His name will be remembered for years to come! He was one of the key Founding Fathers, who served as the 3rd President of America and was also the principal author of the Declaration of Independence.

Despite the time and age he lived in, his opinions and views were incredibly insightful, open-minded, and progressive, which are relevant even today. His ideologies were important and significant then, and they are still important and significant now.

We have compiled a list of the best Thomas Jefferson quotes for you to read and enjoy. Read on to know more about some of the most iconic and famous Thomas Jefferson quotes there are.

Related: 50 Quotes By Socrates: The Wisest Man Ever

50+ Inspirational Thomas Jefferson Quotes

Thomas Jefferson Quotes On Freedom And Liberty โ€“

1. โ€œIn matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.โ€

2. โ€œTimid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.โ€

3. โ€œWhenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government.โ€

4. โ€œI would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it.โ€

5. โ€œI prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery.โ€

6. โ€œIt is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself.โ€

7. โ€œWhen the representative body have lost the confidence of their constituents when they have notoriously made sale of their most valuable rights when they have assumed to themselves powers which the people never put into their hands, then indeed their continuing in office becomes dangerous to the state.โ€

8. โ€œLiberty is the great parent of science and of virtue; and a nation will be great in both in proportion as it is free.โ€

9. โ€œThe natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.โ€

10. โ€œTake not from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.โ€

Thomas Jefferson Quotes On Success โ€“

11. โ€œBe polite to all, but intimate with few.โ€

12. โ€œDo not bite at the bait of pleasure, till you know there is no hook beneath it.โ€

13. โ€œI was bold in the pursuit of knowledge, never fearing to follow truth and reason to whatever results they led.โ€

14. โ€œEvery day is lost in which we do not learn something useful. Man has no nobler or more valuable possession than time.โ€

15. โ€œIf you want something youโ€™ve never had you must be willing to do something youโ€™ve never done.โ€

16. โ€œDetermine 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.โ€

17. โ€œNothing 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.โ€

18. โ€œDonโ€™t talk about what you have done or what you are going to do.โ€

19. โ€œTake care of your cents: dollars will take care of themselves.โ€

20. โ€œIโ€™m a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.โ€

Related: 50 Of Michelle Obamaโ€™s Quotes That Will Make You Go โ€œHell Yeah!โ€

Thomas Jefferson Quotes On Leadership โ€“

21. โ€œIgnorance is preferable to error, and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing than he who believes what is wrong.โ€

22. โ€œIt is always better to have no ideas than false ones; to believe nothing, than to believe what is wrong.โ€

23. โ€œIt is always better to have no ideas than false ones; to believe nothing, than to believe what is wrong.โ€

24. โ€œWhen angry count to ten before you speak. If very angry, count to one hundred.โ€

25. โ€œDo you want to know who you are? Donโ€™t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.โ€

26. โ€œHonesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.โ€

27. โ€œMy theory has always been, that if we are to dream, the flatteries of hope are as cheap, and pleasanter, than the gloom of despair.โ€

28. โ€œThe most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.โ€

29. โ€œNobody is better than you and remember, you are better than nobody.โ€

30. โ€œToo old to plant trees for my own gratification, I shall do it for my posterity.โ€

Thomas Jefferson Quotes On Education

31. โ€œEducate and inform the whole mass of the peopleโ€ฆ They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.โ€

32. โ€œThere is nothing more unequal than the equal treatment of unequal people.โ€

33. โ€œTo penetrate and dissipate these clouds of darkness, the general mind must be strengthened by education.โ€

34. โ€œAbove all things I hope the education of the common people will be attended to; convinced that on their good sense we may rely with the most security for the preservation of a due degree of liberty.โ€

35. โ€œStudents of reading, writing and common arithmetick . . . Graecian [Greek], Roman, English and American history . . . should be rendered . . . worthy to receive, and able to guard the sacred deposit of the rights and liberties of their fellow citizens.โ€

36. โ€œEnlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day.โ€

37. โ€œIf a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.โ€

38. โ€œBigotry is the disease of ignorance, of morbid minds; enthusiasm of the free and buoyant. Education and free discussion are the antidotes of both.โ€

39. โ€œThe truth is that the want of common education with us is not from our poverty but from the want of an orderly system. More money is now paid for the education of a part than would be paid for that of the whole if systematically arranged.โ€

40. โ€œPeople generally have more feeling for canals and roads than education. However, I hope we can advance them with equal pace.โ€

Related: Motivational Quotes By Dwayne Johnson To Lift Your Spirits

Thomas Jefferson Quotes On Life โ€“

41. โ€œI like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.โ€

42. โ€œDo not bite at the bait of pleasure till you know there is no hook beneath it.โ€

43. โ€œDelay is preferable to error.โ€

44. โ€œNothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances.โ€

45. โ€œOur 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.โ€

46. โ€œMy theory has always been, that if we are to dream, the flatteries of hope are as cheap and pleasanter, than the gloom of despair.โ€

47. โ€œThink as you please, and so let others, and you will have no disputes.โ€

48. โ€œWhen we see ourselves in a situation which must be endured and gone through, it is best to make up our minds to it, meet it with firmness, and accommodate everything to it in the best way practicable. This lessens the evil; while fretting and fuming only serves to increase your own torments.โ€

49. โ€œIt does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God.โ€

50. โ€œMy principle is to do whatever is right, and leave consequences to him who has the disposal of them.โ€

51. โ€œThe happiness of the domestic fireside is the first boon of Heaven; and it is well it is so since it is that which is a lot of the mass of mankind.โ€

So, which of these quotes from Thomas Jefferson resonated with you the most? Let us know your thoughts and the best Thomas Jefferson quotes according to you, in the comments down below!


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