F. D. Roosevelt Quotes

For us is the life of action, of strenuous performance of duty; let us live in the harness, striving mightily; let us rather run the risk of wearing out than rusting out.

There is apt to be a lunatic fringe among the votaries of any forward movement.

I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life.

I have always said I would not have been President had it not been for my experience in North Dakota.

Wise and prudent men and intelligent conservatives have long known that in a changing world worthy institutions can be conserved only by adjusting them to the changing time.

The Welfare of Each of Us Is Dependent Fundamentally Upon the Welfare of All of Us

In the field of world policy; I would dedicate this nation to the policy of the good neighbor.

Curiosity must be kept alive.

There are many occasions when the highest praise one can receive is the attack of some given scoundrel.

Happiness is not merely money, which is fun for effort and achievement

I care not what others think of what I do, but I care very much about what I think of what I do! That is character!

There are practical little things in housekeeping which no man really understands.

At sometime in our lives a devil dwells within us, causes heartbreaks, confusion and troubles, then dies.

Let us show, not merely in great crises, but in every day of life, qualities of practical intelligence, of hardihood and endurance, and above all, the power of devotion to a lofty ideal.

We shall make mistakes; and if we let these mistakes frighten us from our work we shall show ourselves weaklings.

The greatest historian should also be a great moralist. It is no proof of impartiality to treat wickedness and goodness on the same level.

The human body has two ends on it: one to create with and one to sit on. Sometimes people get their ends reversed. When this happens they need a kick in the seat of the pants.

Every day do something that frightens you.

It is a terrible thing to look over your shoulder when you are trying to lead - and find no one there.

I hope that you have re-read the Constitution of the United States in these past few weeks. Like the Bible, it ought to be read again and again.

The fundamental idea...is that the country belongs to the people, that it is in process of making for the enrichment of the lives of all of us.

Do the things that interest you and do them with all your heart. Don't be concerned about whether people are watching you or criticizing you. The chances are that they aren't paying attention to you.

Our handicaps exist only in our minds.

For unflagging interest and enjoyment, a household of children, if things go reasonably well, certainly all other forms of success and achievement lose their importance by comparison.

So many figures are quoted to prove so many things. Sometimes it depends on what paper you read or what broadcast you listen in on.

Develop a skin as thick as a rhinoceros hide!

Women are like tea bags: put them in hot water and they get stronger.

I think that somehow, we learn who we really are and then live with that decision.

We face the future fortified with the lessons we have learned from the past. It is today that we must create the world of the future.

Let us speak courteously, deal fairly, and keep ourselves armed and ready.

The chief factor in any man's success or failure must be his own character.

Understanding is a two-way street.

The ultimate victory of tomorrow is democracy, and through democracy with education, for no people in all the world can be kept eternally ignorant or eternally enslaved.

All the water in the world cannot drown you unless it gets inside of you.

I always keep my weather eye on the opposition of my seventh house Moon to my first house Mars.

If we can boondoggle ourselves out of this depression, that word is going to be enshrined in the hearts of the American people for years to come.

The only things one can admire at length are those one admires without knowing why.

In life, as in football, the principle to follow is to hit the line hard.

I shall either find a way, or make one (attributed)

It is today that we create the world of the future.

No man can tame a tiger into a kitten by stroking it.

No one is all-knowing and therefore all of us need both love and charity.

Taxes, after all, are dues that we pay for the privileges of membership in an organized society.

Work is always an antidote to depression.

To sit home, read one's favorite paper, and scoff at the misdeeds of the men who do things is easy, but it is markedly ineffective. It is what evil men count upon the good men's doing.

You always admire what you really don't understand. - Eleanor Roosevelt

A people without children would face a hopeless future; a country without trees is almost as helpless.

Courage is exhilarating.

I have never felt that anything really mattered but knowing that you stood for the things in which you believed and had done the very best you could.

It's your life-but only if you make it so.