"Never throw off the best affections of..." - Quote by Thomas Jefferson
Never throw off the best affections of nature in the moment when they become most precious to their object; nor fear to extend you hand to save another, lest you should sink yourself.
More by Thomas Jefferson
“When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe.”
“Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle.”
“Men fight for freedom; then they begin to accumulate laws to take it away from themselves.”
More on Compassion
“Your education tends to develop the brain while it neglects the heart, so you have a longing for teachings that develop and strengthen the good heart.”
“It is not my nature, when I see a people borne down by the weight of their shackles - the oppression of tyranny - to make their life more bitter by heaping upon them greater burdens; but rather would I do all in my power to raise the yoke than to add anything that would tend to crush them.”
“There have been many people for whom limitations, failure, loss, or pain in whatever form turned out to be their greatest teacher. It taught them to let go of false self-images and superficial ego-dictated goals and desires. It gave them depth, humility and compassion. It made them more real.”
More on Helping Others
“All success consists in this: You are doing something for somebody - benefiting humanity - and the feeling of success comes from the consciousness of this.”
“If we can manage to refrain from harming others in our everyday actions and words, we can start to give more serious attention to actively doing good, and this can be a source of great joy and inner confidence. We can benefit others through our actions by being warm and generous toward them, by being charitable, and by helping those in need.”
“Good exercise for the heart: reach out and help your neighbor”