George Washington’s Quotes That Will Change Your Life Forever!

it is better to offer no excuse than a bad one it is better to be alone than in bad company if freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led like sheep to the slaughter human happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected 99 of failures come from people who make excuses i hope i shall never possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what i consider the most inevitable of all titles the character of an honest man there is nothing which can better deserve our patronage than the promotion of science and literature knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness guard against the imposters of pretend patriotism labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience perseverance and spirit have done wonders in all ages associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation for tis better to be alone than in bad company let us therefore animate and encourage each other and show the whole world that a freeman contending for liberty on his own ground is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth a sensible woman can never be happy with a fool few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder happiness depends more upon the internal frame of a person's own mind than on the externals in the world experience teaches us that it is much easier to prevent an enemy from posting themselves than it is to dislodge them after they have got possession but lest some unlucky event should happen unfavorable to my reputation i beg it may be remembered by every gentleman in the room that i this day declare with the utmost certainty i do not think myself equal to the command i am honored with the harder the conflict the greater the triumph worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble the turning points of lives are not great moments the real crisis are often concealed in occurrences so trivial in appearance that they pass unobserved to encourage literature and the arts is a duty which every good citizen owes to his country i conceive and knowledge of books is the basis upon which other knowledge is to be built paper money has had the effect in your state that it will ever have to ruin commerce oppress the honest and open the door to every species of fraud and injustice where are your men of abilities why do they not come forth to save their country real men despise battle but will never run from it we must consult our means rather than our wishes be courteous to all but intimate with a few and let those be well tried before you give them your confidence to persevere in one's duty and be silent is the best answer to columny discipline is the soul of an army it makes small numbers formidable procures success to the weak and esteem to all let your heart feel for the afflictions and distress of everyone we should not look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors and for the purpose of profiting by dearly bought experience there is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet the enemy be not glad at the misfortune of another though he may be your enemy the great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations to have with them as little political connection as possible no punishment in my opinion is too great for the man who can build his greatness upon his country's ruin i hold the maxim no less applicable to the public than to private affairs that honesty is always the best policy it is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government the rule indeed extends with more or less force to every species of free government gentlemen you will permit me to put on my spectacles for i have grown not only gray but almost blind in the service of my country strive not with your superiors an argument but always submit your judgment to others with modesty it is absolutely necessary for me to have persons that can think for me as well as execute orders 99 of failures are the ones who make excuses no people can be bound to acknowledge the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the united states every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency a bad war is fought with a good mind decision making like coffee needs a cooling process i'll die on my feet before i'll live on my knees individuals entering into society must give up a share of liberty to preserve the rest a slender acquaintance with the world must convince every man that actions not words are the true criterion of the attachment of friends