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.
— Letters of Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was a Founding Father and the third president of the United States, serving from 1801 to 1809. A prolific writer and philosopher, he was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, and his political philosophy formed the basis of Jeffersonian democracy. He is celebrated as an icon of American political values but is also controversial as a lifelong slave owner.
Born in Shadwell, Virginia, he became an ideological leader of the American Revolution through his advocacy for civil liberties, including freedom of speech, religion and thought. He represented Virginia in the Second Continental Congress from 1775, drafted the Declaration largely alone, and saw it passed unanimously in 1776. In 1785 he was appointed U.S. Minister to France. His letters and Notes on the State of Virginia are among his most quoted works in our library.
Born in Shadwell, Virginia, he became an ideological leader of the American Revolution through his advocacy for civil liberties, including freedom of speech, religion and thought. He represented Virginia in the Second Continental Congress from 1775, drafted the Declaration largely alone, and saw it passed unanimously in 1776. In 1785 he was appointed U.S. Minister to France. His letters and Notes on the State of Virginia are among his most quoted works in our library.
Most quoted works
- Letters of Thomas Jefferson 22
- Writings: Autobiography/Notes on the State of Virginia/Public & Private Papers/Addresses/Letters 3
- Notes on the State of Virginia 2
- The Papers of Thomas Jefferson: Retirement Series, Volume 10: 1 May 1816 to 18 January 1817 2
- Works of Thomas Jefferson. Including The Jefferson Bible, Autobiography and The Writings of Thomas Jefferson (Illustrated), with Notes on Virginia, Parliamentary ... more. 2
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.
— Writings: Autobiography/Notes on the State of Virginia/Public & Private Papers/Addresses/Letters
Our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions any more than our opinions in physics or geometry...
— The Statute Of Virginia For Religious Freedom
He [Weishaupt] says, no one ever laid a surer foundation for liberty than our grand master, Jesus of Nazareth.
— Works of Thomas Jefferson. Including The Jefferson Bible, Autobiography and The Writings of Thomas Jefferson (Illustrated), with Notes on Virginia, Parliamentary ... more.
Politics, like religion, hold up the torches of martyrdom to the reformers of error.
— Letters of Thomas Jefferson
History, in general, only informs us what bad government is.
— Letters of Thomas Jefferson
If you serve humanity, you serve humanity's God.
— Works of Thomas Jefferson. Including The Jefferson Bible, Autobiography and The Writings of Thomas Jefferson (Illustrated), with Notes on Virginia, Parliamentary ... more.
Even in Europe a change has sensibly taken place in the mind of man. Science has liberated the ideas of those who read and reflect, and the American example has kindled feelings of right in the people.
— Letters of Thomas Jefferson
All that is necessary for a student is access to a library.
— The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 16: November 1789 to July 1790
I think one travels more usefully when they travel alone, because they reflect
— The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 11: January 1787 to August 1787
But every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle.
— U.S. Presidential Inaugural Addresses
When describing the University of Virginia: Here, We are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it.
— Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States of America, Bill of Rights and Constitutional Amendments (Including Images of Original
I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.
The contest is not between Us and Them, but between Good and Evil, and if those who would fight Evil adopt the ways of Evil, Evil wins.
When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry, an hundred.
Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitudefrom achieving his goal. Nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong attitude.
All are dead, and ourselves left alone amidst a new generation whom we know not, and who know us not.