“One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to have occasion for them.”

— Thomas Jefferson

Letter to George Washington (1796); published in The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, 20 Vols., Washington, D.C., (1903-04), 9:341
1790s

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to have occasion for them." by Thomas Jefferson?

Thomas Jefferson 456

3rd President of the United States of America 1743–1826

Robert Sidney Foster (1913–2005) British Colonial governor

Address opening Fiji's first parliamentary session as an independent nation (excerpts)

“I'm still there, watching those possessed children, as far away from the mystery now as I was then. I've never written, though I thought I wrote, never loved, though I thought I loved, never done anything but wait outside the closed door.”

Marguerite Duras book The Lover

Source: The Lover

“It is wise to be silent when occasion requires, and better than to speak, though never so well.”

Plutarch book Moralia

Moralia, Of the Training of Children

“Even though we both know that our loved one will never so much as look our way we can’t erase that small something within us that continues to hope in vain.”

Matsuri Hino Japanese manga artist

“Hope is love's happiness, but not its life;—
How many hearts have nourished a vain flame
In silence and in secret, though they knew
They fed the scorching fire that would consume them!”

Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802–1838) English poet and novelist

The Improvisatrice (1824)

“Dance as though no one's watching
Sing as though no one's listening
Love as though you've never been hurt
Work as though you don't need the money.
Live as though it's heaven on earth”

Albert D'Souza (1945) catholic prelate in India

“I hope you never need no one,
Hope you treasure your independence.
I hope you never fall in love
With someone like you.”

Tom Petty (1950–2017) American musician

Hope You Never
Lyrics, Songs and Music from "She's the One" (1996)

“Women are hardly ever known in their true light, though they may love men, or become indifferent towards them, may give them delight, or abandon them, or may extract from them all the wealth that they possess.”

Vātsyāyana book Kama Sutra

Source: Kama Sutra, p. 118

“I cannot remember a time when I was not in love with them--with the books themselves, cover and binding and the paper they were printed on, with their smell and their weight and with their possession in my arms, captured and carried off to myself.”

Eudora Welty book One Writer's Beginnings

One Writer's Beginnings(1984)
Context: It had been startling and disappointing to me to find out that story books had been written by people, that books were not natural wonders, coming up of themselves like grass. Yet regardless of where they came from, I cannot remember a time when I was not in love with them -- with the books themselves, cover and binding and the paper they were printed on, with their smell and their weight and with their possession in my arms, captured and carried off to myself.

“It is true that after they have been reassured and have lost this fear, they are so artless and so free with all they possess, that no one would believe it without having seen it. Of anything they have, if you ask them for it, they never say no; rather they invite the person to share it, and show as much love as if they were giving their hearts.”

Cristoforo Colombo (1451–1506) Explorer, navigator, and colonizer

Letter to the Sovereigns (1493)

“One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to have occasion for them.”

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Thomas Jefferson 456

Related quotes

Related topics