[shilala]

“I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.”
From a letter to William Hamilton, April 22, 1800

“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
From the Declaration of Independence

“I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.”
From a letter to Benjamin Rush September 23, 1800

“I set out on this ground which I suppose to be self evident, ‘that the earth belongs in usufruct to the living;’ that the dead have neither powers nor rights over it.”
From a letter to James Madison criticizing the new Constitution, September 6, 1789

“Say nothing of my religion. It is known to God and myself alone. Its evidence before the world is to be sought in my life: if it has been honest and dutiful to society the religion which has regulated it cannot be a bad one.”
From a letter to biographer Joseph Delaplaine, December 25, 1816

“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.”
From a letter to his daughter, Martha May 5, 1787