He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual; he tells lies without attending to it, and truths without the world's believing him. This falsehood of the tongue leads to that of the heart, and in time depraves all its good dispositions.
Interpretation
Lying can become a habit that corrupts one's moral character over time.
This quote by Thomas Jefferson highlights the dangers of lying and how it can lead to a pattern of deceit that not only becomes easier but also dulls the sense of truth. Once a lie is told, it becomes simpler to tell another, ultimately weakening one's integrity and the capacity for genuine belief in truth, thus corrupting the individual's moral disposition.
In practice
During a motivational speech about honesty in leadership.
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
We 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.
There is no normal life that is free of pain. It's the very wrestling with our problems that can be the impetus for our growth.
The most common cause of fear of old age is associated with the possibility of poverty.
Genius... means little more than the faculty of perceiving in an unhabitual way.
Through therapy and a lot of thinking and writing my memoirs, I've been able to use my life as a lesson.
For those who are always courteous and respectful of elders, four things increase: life, beauty, happiness and strength.
Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.
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