---
title: "4 Destroying Quotes By Thomas Jefferson"
description: "4 Destroying quotes by Thomas Jefferson. Plus more from Thomas Jefferson and more Destroying sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/thomas-jefferson-43_destroying_the-greatest-honor-of-a-man-is-in-doing_217850.jpg"
---

> [The greatest honor of a man is in doing good to his fellow men, not in destroying them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-greatest-honor-of-a-man-is-in-doing-good-to-his-fellow-men-not-in/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/thomas-jefferson-43_destroying_the-greatest-honor-of-a-man-is-in-doing_217850.jpg)

> [The evils which of necessity encompass the life of man are sufficiently numerous. Why should we add to them by voluntarily distressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-evils-which-of-necessity-encompass-the-life-of-man-are/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/thomas-jefferson-43_add_the-evils-which-of-necessity-encompass-t_284415.jpg)

> [The public school system: "Usually a twelve year sentence of mind control. Crushing creativity, smashing individualism, encouraging collectivism and compromise, destroying the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-public-school-system-usually-a-twelve-year-sentence-of-mind/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/325/thomas-jefferson-43_authority_the-public-school-system-usually-a-twelv_499651.jpg)

> [Born in the same land, we ought to live as brothers, doing to each other all the good we can, and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/born-in-the-same-land-we-ought-to-live-as-brothers-doing-to-each/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/thomas-jefferson-43_anti-war_born-in-the-same-land-we-ought-to-live-a_2653654.jpg)

## Other authors on Destroying

## More by Thomas Jefferson

> [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [ \[States and the Federal government are\] coordinate departments of one simple and integral whole... The one is the domestic, the other the foreign branch… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/states-and-the-federal-government-are-coordinate-departments-of-one/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendency of one sect over another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-for-freedom-of-religion-and-against-all-maneuvers-to-bring-about/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/single-acts-of-tyranny-may-be-ascribed-to-the-accidental-opinion-of-a/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [“Perceiving the order of nature to be that individual happiness shall be inseparable from the practice of virtue, I am willing to hope it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/perceiving-the-order-of-nature-to-be-that-individual-happiness-shall/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [Free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind down those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/free-government-is-founded-in-jealousy-and-not-in-confidence-it-is/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [Though you cannot see, when you take one step, what will be the next, yet follow truth, justice, and plain dealing, and never fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/though-you-cannot-see-when-you-take-one-step-what-will-be-the-next/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-well-informed-citizenry-is-the-best-defense-against-tyranny/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [The two principles on which our conduct towards the Indians should be founded are justice and fear. After the injuries we have done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-two-principles-on-which-our-conduct-towards-the-indians-should-be/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [Knowledge is power...knowled ge is safety...knowle dge is happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/knowledge-is-power-knowled-ge-is-safety-knowle-dge-is-happiness/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [There is... an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-is-an-artificial-aristocracy-founded-on-wealth-and-birth/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [Nothing but free argument, raillery and even ridicule will preserve the purity of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/nothing-but-free-argument-raillery-and-even-ridicule-will-preserve/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [When the people are afraid of the government, that's tyranny. But when the government is afraid of the people, that's liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/when-the-people-are-afraid-of-the-government-that-s-tyranny-but-when/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [“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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-hold-these-truths-to-be-self-evident-that-all-men-are-created/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying/thomas-jefferson/#itemlist",
            "name": "4 Destroying Quotes By Thomas Jefferson",
            "numberOfItems": 4,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The greatest honor of a man is in doing good to his fellow men, not in destroying them.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Jefferson"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-greatest-honor-of-a-man-is-in-doing-good-to-his-fellow-men-not-in/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/thomas-jefferson-43_destroying_the-greatest-honor-of-a-man-is-in-doing_217850.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/thomas-jefferson-43_destroying_the-greatest-honor-of-a-man-is-in-doing_217850.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/thomas-jefferson-43_destroying_the-greatest-honor-of-a-man-is-in-doing_217850.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The greatest honor of a man is in doing good to his fellow men, not in destroying them.” — Thomas Jefferson",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The evils which of necessity encompass the life of man are sufficiently numerous. Why should we add to them by voluntarily distressing and destroying one another? Peace, brothers, is better than war. In a long and bloody war, we lose many friends, and gain nothing. Let us then live in peace and friendship together, doing to each other all the good we can.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Jefferson"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-evils-which-of-necessity-encompass-the-life-of-man-are/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/thomas-jefferson-43_add_the-evils-which-of-necessity-encompass-t_284415.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/thomas-jefferson-43_add_the-evils-which-of-necessity-encompass-t_284415.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/thomas-jefferson-43_add_the-evils-which-of-necessity-encompass-t_284415.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The evils which of necessity encompass the life of man are sufficiently numerous. Why should we add to them…” — Thomas Jefferson",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The public school system: \"Usually a twelve year sentence of mind control. Crushing creativity, smashing individualism, encouraging collectivism and compromise, destroying the exercise of intellectual inquiry, twisting it instead into meek subservience to authority.\" - Walter Karp, Editor Harper's Magazine The ground of liberty is to be gained by inches, and we must be contented to secure what we can get from time to time and eternally press forward for what is yet to get. It takes time to persuade men to do even what is for their own good.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Jefferson"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-public-school-system-usually-a-twelve-year-sentence-of-mind/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/325/thomas-jefferson-43_authority_the-public-school-system-usually-a-twelv_499651.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/325/thomas-jefferson-43_authority_the-public-school-system-usually-a-twelv_499651.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/325/thomas-jefferson-43_authority_the-public-school-system-usually-a-twelv_499651.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The public school system: \"Usually a twelve year sentence of mind control. Crushing creativity, smashing…” — Thomas Jefferson",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Born in the same land, we ought to live as brothers, doing to each other all the good we can, and not listening to wicked men, who may endeavor to make us enemies. By living in peace, we can help and prosper one another; by waging war, we can kill and destroy many on both sides; but those who survive will not be the happier for that.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Jefferson"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/born-in-the-same-land-we-ought-to-live-as-brothers-doing-to-each/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/thomas-jefferson-43_anti-war_born-in-the-same-land-we-ought-to-live-a_2653654.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/thomas-jefferson-43_anti-war_born-in-the-same-land-we-ought-to-live-a_2653654.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/thomas-jefferson-43_anti-war_born-in-the-same-land-we-ought-to-live-a_2653654.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Born in the same land, we ought to live as brothers, doing to each other all the good we can, and not…” — Thomas Jefferson",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying/thomas-jefferson/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying/thomas-jefferson/",
            "name": "Destroying Quotes by Thomas Jefferson",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying/thomas-jefferson/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/thomas-jefferson-43_destroying_the-greatest-honor-of-a-man-is-in-doing_217850.jpg"
            },
            "description": "4 Destroying quotes by Thomas Jefferson. Plus more from Thomas Jefferson and more Destroying sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying/thomas-jefferson/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying/thomas-jefferson/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Destroying",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Thomas Jefferson",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying/thomas-jefferson/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```