“Virtue is not hereditary.”

Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.

When a man has so far corrupted and prostituted the chastity of his mind, as to [profess] things he does not believe, he has prepared himself for the commission of every other crime.

When it becomes necessary to do a thing, the whole heart and soul should go into the measure, or not attempt it.

I have always strenuously supported the right of every man to his own opinion, however different that opinion might be to mine. He who denies to another this right, makes a slave of himself to his present opinion, because he precludes himself the right of changing it.

Independence is my happiness, and I view things as they are, without regard to place or person; my country is the world, and my religion is to do good.

In Deism our reason and our belief become happily united. The wonderful structure of the universe, and everything we behold in the system of the creation, prove to us, far better than books can do, the existence of a God, and at the same time proclaim His attributes.

The strength and power of despotism consists wholly in the fear of resistance.

A Constitution is not the act of a Government, but of a people constituting a government, and a government without a constitution is a power without right.

The right of voting for representatives is the primary right by which other rights are protected. To take away this right is to reduce a man to slavery, for slavery consists in being subject to the will of another, and he that has not a vote in the election of representatives is in this case.

You cannot undermine police authority and then complain about rising crime.

All churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Muslim, are simply human inventions. They use fear to enslave us. They are a monopoly for power and profit.

The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.

For though the flame of liberty may sometimes cease to shine, the coal can never expire.

I consider the war of America against Britain as the country’s war, the public’s war, or the war of the people in their own behalf, for the security of their natural rights, and the protection of their own property.

A constitution defines and limits the powers of the government it creates. It therefore follows, as a natural and also a logical result, that the governmental exercise of any power not authorized by the constitution is an assumed power, and therefore illegal.

Rights are not gifts from one man to another, nor from one class of men to another. It is impossible to discover any origin of rights otherwise than in the origin of man; it consequently follows that rights appertain to man in right of his existence, and must therefore be equal to every man.

A son can bear with equanimity the loss of his father, but the loss of his inheritance may drive him to despair.

Barbarism is not the inheritance of our pre-history. It is the companion that dogs our every step.

My mother told me I was blessed, and I have always taken her word for it. Being born of – or reincarnated from – royalty is nothing Like being blessed. Royalty is inherited from another human being; blessedness comes from God.

Happiness and joy are inner qualities that can’t be shaken by outer circumstances because they are inherent within the core Self.

That which we acquire with the most difficulty we retain the longest; as those who have earned a fortune are usually more careful of it than those who have inherited one.

The mental ability to concentrate is inherent to all; it is not extraordinary or mysterious. Meditation is not something that a Yogi has to teach you; you already have the ability to shut out thoughts.

The art of medicine cannot be inherited, nor can it be copied from books

Let the meek inherit the earth — they have it coming to them.