“The main objects of all science, the freedom and happiness of man. . . . [are] the sole objects of all legitimate government.

“The art of life is the art of avoiding pain.”

“...never [enter] into dispute or argument with another. I never saw an instance of one of two disputants convincing the other by argument. I have seen many, on their getting warm, becoming rude, & shooting one another. ... When I hear another express an opinion which is not mine, I say to myself, he has a right to his opinion, as I to mine; why should I question it? His error does me no injury, and shall I become a Don Quixote, to bring all men by force of argument to one opinion? ... There are two classes of disputants most frequently to be met with among us. The first is of young students, just entered the threshold of science, with a first view of its outlines, not yet filled up with the details & modifications which a further progress would bring to their knoledge. The other consists of the ill-tempered & rude men in society, who have taken up a passion for politics. ... Consider yourself, when with them, as among the patients of Bedlam, needing medical more than moral counsel. Be a listener only, keep within yourself, and endeavor to establish with yourself the habit of silence, especially on politics. In the fevered state of our country, no good can ever result from any attempt to set one of these fiery zealots to rights, either in fact or principle. They are determined as to the facts they will believe, and the opinions on which they will act. Get by them, therefore, as you would by an angry bull; it is not for a man of sense to dispute the road with such an animal.”

“The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object.” 

“An enemy generally says and believes what he wishes.” 

“He who knows best knows how little he knows.”

“Honesty is the first chapter of the book wisdom.”

“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.”

“I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.”

“Leave all the afternoon for exercise and recreation, which are as necessary as reading. I will rather say more necessary because health is worth more than learning.”

“Experience demands that man is the only animal which devours his own kind, for I can apply no milder term to the general prey of the rich on the poor.”

“I felt enough of the effect of withdrawing from the world then, to see that it led to an antisocial and misanthropic state of mind, which severely punished him who gives in to it. And it will be a lesson I never shall forget as to myself.”

“I'm a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it”

“The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.”

“Every generation needs a new revolution.”