Honesty, disinterestedness and good nature are indispensable to procure the esteem and confidence of those with whom we live, and on whose esteem our happiness depends.
Interpretation
Honesty and goodwill are essential for earning the respect and trust of others, which is vital for our happiness.
This quote by Thomas Jefferson emphasizes the importance of being honest, selfless, and kind in our interactions with others. It suggests that these qualities not only help us to gain the esteem and confidence of those around us but also play a crucial role in determining our own happiness, as our well-being is often linked to the relationships we cultivate and the way we are perceived by those in our lives.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech emphasizing the importance of character in personal relationships.
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.
I think, really, that the only way a person can open their heart to someone who is so much another is really by knowing them... whether that's in a classroom, or a soccer team, or a food pantry, or any of those things. I mean, we're kind of more alike than we are different.
Once a woman is made man's equal, she becomes his superior.
You will never truly know yourself or the strength of your relationships until both have been tested by adversity.
So time doesn't count, and place does?' I said this to tease her. When I was a man, I liked teasing her and she went along with it, consenting, for it reminded us both of a sadness that had passed.
Experiences with friends or family members coming out have helped millions of Americans to see past stereotypes and better understand what being gay is - and is not.
Somewhere in his body--perhaps in the marrow of his bones--he would continue to feel her absence.
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