“Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst and cold.”
Thomas Jefferson
Letter to Thomas Jefferson Smith (Primary source)
Jefferson wrote to his young namesake offering heartfelt advice for life, emphasizing virtue, duty, self-reliance, and prudence. He included a “Decalogue of Canons”—practical maxims like never trouble another for what you can do yourself—as guidance for character and conduct.
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“For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it.”
— Thomas Jefferson Primary source“Never spend your money before you have it.”
— Thomas Jefferson Primary source“Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.”
— Thomas Jefferson Primary source“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
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“Hunger is healthy and the pictures do look better when you are hungry.”
— Ernest Hemingway Disputed“You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough.”
— William Blake Primary source“The eye of a master, will do more work than his hand.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“Do not do that which you would not have known.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source