Lenience will operate with greater force, in some instances than rigor. It is therefore my first wish to have all of my conduct distinguished by it.

Let your Discourse with Men of Business be Short and Comprehensive.

Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light.

Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence.

Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company.

The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves.

There can be no greater error than to expect, or calculate, upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard.

Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.

The constitution vests the power of declaring war in Congress; therefore no offensive expedition of importance can be undertaken until after they shall have deliberated upon the subject and authorized such a measure.

The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference - they deserve a place of honor with all that's good.

Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair; the rest is in the hands of God.

Mankind, when left to themselves, are unfit for their own government.

The Constitution is the guide which I never will abandon.

My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth.

I can only say that there is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery.

Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth.

Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all.

Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.

If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known, that we are at all times ready for War.

Laws made by common consent must not be trampled on by individuals.

I walk on untrodden ground. There is scarcely any part of my conduct which may not hereafter be drawn into precedent.

Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

Friendship is a plant of slow growth and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.

My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.

The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government.

Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.

If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.

It may be laid down as a primary position, and the basis of our system, that every Citizen who enjoys the protection of a Free Government, owes not only a proportion of his property, but even of his personal services to the defense of it.

The administration of justice is the firmest pillar of government.

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.

Some day, following the example of the United States of America, there will be a United States of Europe.

My observation is that whenever one person is found adequate to the discharge of a duty... it is worse executed by two persons, and scarcely done at all if three or more are employed therein.

Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness.

I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.

A slender acquaintance with the world must convince every man that actions, not words, are the true criterion of the attachment of friends.

War - An act of violence whose object is to constrain the enemy, to accomplish our will.

Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.

It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.

It will be found an unjust and unwise jealousy to deprive a man of his natural liberty upon the supposition he may abuse it.

It is better to be alone than in bad company.

True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity, before it is entitled to the appellation.

Bad seed is a robbery of the worst kind: for your pocket-book not only suffers by it, but your preparations are lost and a season passes away unimproved.

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.

I have no other view than to promote the public good, and am unambitious of honors not founded in the approbation of my Country.

The foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing is a vice so mean and low that every person of sense and character detests and despises it.

It is far better to be alone, than to be in bad company.

Let your heart feel for the afflictions and distress of everyone, and let your hand give in proportion to your purse.

The marvel of all history is the patience with which men and women submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments.

Nothing can be more hurtful to the service, than the neglect of discipline; for that discipline, more than numbers, gives one army the superiority over another.