I have ever deemed it more honorable and more profitable, too, to set a good example than to follow a bad one.
Interpretation
Setting a positive example is more beneficial and honorable than following a negative one.
This quote by Thomas Jefferson emphasizes the importance of leading by example. It suggests that individuals should aspire to demonstrate good behavior and choices, as these can inspire others to act similarly, rather than simply conforming to negative influences. It highlights the value of integrity and the impact of personal conduct on society.
In practice
In a speech about leadership at a community event.
The firmness with which the (American) people have withstood the... abuses of the press, the discernment they have manifested between truth and falsehood, show that they may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false and to form a correct judgment between them.
I, place economy among the first & most important republican virtues, & public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared
βWe 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 and in our amusements...if we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.
Very many and very meritorious were the worthy patriots who assisted in bringing back our government to its republican tack. To preserve it in that, will require unremitting vigilance.
A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society.
Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.
Nor is the people's judgment always true: the most may err as grossly as the few.
The place one's in, though, doesn't make any contribution to peace of mind: it's the spirit that makes everything agreeable to oneself.
Prepare for the unknown, unexpected and inconceivable . . . after 50 years of flying I'm still learning every time I fly.
Jessica stopped beside him, said: 'What delicious abandon in the sleep of a child.' He spoke mechanically: 'If only adults could relax like that.' 'Yes.' 'Where do we lose it?' he murmured. 'We do, indeed, lose something,' she said.
It's not just that reporting gives you a bigger slice of life, gives - lends verisimilitude to what you are doing - it's that it feeds the imagination.
Forgiveness is a gift to myself. I forgive, and I set myself free.
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