George Washington Quotes

Let experience solve it. To listen to mere speculation in such a case were criminal.

From thinking proceeds speaking; thence to acting is often but a single step. But how irrevocable and tremendous!

Should the States reject this excellent Constitution, the probability is, an opportunity will never again offer to cancel another in peacethe next will be drawn in blood.

The liberality of sentiment toward each other, which marks every political and religious denomination of men in this country, stands unparalleled in the history of nations.

To the efficacy and permanency of your union a government for the whole is indispensable.

I consider it an indubitable mark of mean-spiritedness and pitiful vanity to court applause from the pen or tongue of man.

Honesty will be found on every experiment, to be the best and only true policy; let us then as a Nation be just.

I had rather be in my grave than in my present situation, I had rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world; and yet they charge me with wanting to be a king.

I am again called upon by the voice of my country to execute the functions of its Chief Magistrate.

I am just going. Have me decently buried; and do not let my body be put into the Vault in less than three days after I am dead.... Tis well.

The determinations of Providence are always wise, often inscrutable; and, though its decrees appear to bear hard upon us at times, is nevertheless meant for gracious purposes.

There is an indissoluble union between a magnanimous policy and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity.

Letters of friendship require no study.

Providence has done, and I am persuaded is disposed to do, a great deal for us; but we are not to forget the fable of Jupiter and the countryman.

[T]he first transactions of a nation, like those of an individual upon his first entrance into life make the deepest impression, and are to form the leading traits in its character.

Thirteen sovereignties pulling against each other and all tugging at the federal head, will soon bring ruin on the whole.

There is a rank due to the United States among nations which will be withheld, if not absolutely lost, by the reputation of weakness.

Alas! Our dancing days are no more. We wish, however, all those who have a relish for so agreeable and innocent an amusement all the pleasure the season will afford them.

[L]eave nothing to the uncertainty of procuring a warlike apparatus at the moment of public danger.

We are not to expect perfection in this world; but mankind, in modern times, have apparently made some progress in the science of government.

Let your countenance be pleasant, but in serious matters let it be somewhat grave.

Diffidence in an officer is a good mark because he will always endeavor to bring himself up to what he conceives to be the full line of his duty.

We should on all Occasions avoid a general Action, or put anything to the Risque, unless compelled by a necessity, into which we ought never to be drawn.

Did I say the book of nature is a catechism? Yes, But, after it answers the first question with "God," nothing but questions follow.

The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

Human happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected.

The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.

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.

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

90% of all failures in life are those who have the habit of making excuses.

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.

There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet the enemy

Those who have committed no faults want no pardon. We are only defending what we deem our indisputable rights.

Ninety-nine percent of all failures come from people who have a habit of making excuses.

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

When you do the common things in an uncommon way, you'll command the attention of the world.

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

Actions not words are the true criterion of the attachment of friends.

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

Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation for 'tis 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.

It [gaming] is the child of avarice the brother of iniquity and the father of mischief.

Action not words are the true criterion of the attachment of friends.

Government is not reason it is not eloquence - it is force.

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

I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles the character of an "Honest Man."

To persevere in one's duty and be silent is the best answer to calumny.

To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.

I shall never ask never refuse nor ever resign an office.

My movements to the chair of government will be accompanied by feelings not unlike those of a culprit who is going to the place of his execution.