"Public offices were not made for private..." - Quote by Thomas Jefferson
Public offices were not made for private convenience.
More by Thomas Jefferson
“No generation has a right to contract debts greater than can be paid off during the course of its own existence.”
“not to find out new principles, or new arguments, never before thought of . . . but to place before mankind the common sense of the subject, in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent, and to justify ourselves in the independent stand we are compelled to take.”
“I think we have more machinery of government than is necessary, too many parasites living on the labor of the industrious.”
More on Public Service
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the president... is morally treasonable to the American public.”
“The kinds of people we need in government are precisely the kinds of people who are most reluctant to go into government -- people who understand the inherent dangers of power and feel a distaste for using it, but who may do so for a few years as a civic duty. The worst kind of people to have in government are those who see it as a golden opportunity to impose their own superior wisdom and virtue on others.”
“Unlike other people, unlike others, I have never represented a corporation. I have never represented a special interest. I started my career fighting for the people.”
More on Duty
“The duty of youth is to challenge corruption.”
“My dream of politics all my life has been that it is the common business, that it is something we owe to each other to understand and discuss with absolute frankness.”
“But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.”