Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations. 1989.
| NUMBER: | 1562 |
| AUTHOR: | Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) |
| QUOTATION: | When a man assumes a public trust, he should consider himself as public property. |
| ATTRIBUTION: | Attributed to Rayner says the remark was made during a conversation in the president’s office with Baron Alexander von Humboldt, the celebrated naturalist and traveler. |
| SUBJECTS: | Public service |