An honest man can feel no pleasure in the exercise of power over his fellow citizens . . . There has never been a moment of my life in which I should have relinquished for it the enjoyments of my family, my farm, my friends and books.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the value of honesty and personal fulfillment over the pursuit of power.
Thomas Jefferson expresses a belief that a truly honest individual finds no joy in exerting power over others. He suggests that the simple pleasures of family, nature (represented by his farm), friendship, and intellectual pursuits (as symbolized by books) are far more valuable than any political or authoritative influence one might acquire.
In practice
Use this quote during a speech about the importance of integrity in leadership.
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
We 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.
It's the attitude about life, man. Looking at the light instead of the dark. Looking at love instead of fear.
Where aspirations outstrip opportunities, law-abiding society becomes the victim. Attitudes of contempt toward the law are forged in this crucible and form the inner core of the beliefs of organized adult crime.
We live in an age in which there is no heroic death.
He will essentially follow the language of the spectacle, for it is the only one he is familiar with.
You are done for - a living dead man - not when you stop loving but stop hating. Hatred preserves: in it, in its chemistry, resides the mystery of life.
All life is part of a complex relationship in which each is dependent upon the others, taking from, giving to and living with all the rest.
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