Thomas Jefferson’s 10 Rules of Life

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Over the years Jefferson "developed a list of axioms for personal behavior. Some seem to have been of his own invention; others derived from classical or literary sources."

Here is a "decalogue of canons for observation in practical life" that the former president imparted in 1825:

  1. Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.
     
  2. Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.
     
  3. Never spend your money before you have it.
     
  4. Never buy what you do not want, because it is cheap; it will be dear to you.
     
  5. Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst and cold.
     
  6. We never repent of having eaten too little.
     
  7. Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.
     
  8. Don’t let the evils that have never happened cost you pain.
     
  9. Always take things by their smooth handle.
     
  10. When angry, count to ten before you speak; if very angry, count to one-hundred.

 

Throughout the 19th century, "Jefferson’s 10 Rules" were printed and reprinted in newspapers and magazines.