The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend to all the happiness of man.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that the teachings of Jesus are straightforward and ultimately aim to promote human happiness.
Thomas Jefferson highlights the simplicity of Jesus's teachings and emphasizes their focus on the well-being and happiness of humanity. He implies that understanding and embracing these doctrines can lead to a more fulfilling and joyful life, suggesting a universal truth in the moral guidance provided by these teachings.
In practice
In a discussion about ethics, one could quote Jefferson to highlight the moral foundations of happiness.
The firmness with which the (American) people have withstood the... abuses of the press, the discernment they have manifested between truth and falsehood, show that they may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false and to form a correct judgment between them.
I, place economy among the first & most important republican virtues, & public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared
βWe must make our choice between economy and liberty or confusion and servitude...If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and comforts, in our labor and in our amusements...if we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.
Very many and very meritorious were the worthy patriots who assisted in bringing back our government to its republican tack. To preserve it in that, will require unremitting vigilance.
A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society.
Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.
Why should we think upon things that are lovely? Because thinking determines life. It is a common habit to blame life upon the environment. Environment modifies life but does not govern life. The soul is stronger than its surroundings.
Nobody seems more obsessed by diet than our antimaterialist, otherworldly, New Age, spiritual types. But if the material world is merely illusion, an honest guru should as content with Budweiser and bratwurst as with raw carrot juice, tofu, and seaweed slime.
What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.
Having no destination, I am never lost.
Without God man has no reference point to define himself. 20th century philosophy manifests the chaos of man seeking to understand himself as a creature with dignity while having no reference point for that dignity.
The spiritual journey is one of continuous learning and purification. When you know this, you become humble.
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