George Washington Quotes

Went to church and fasted all day.

To form a new Government, requires infinite care, and unbounded attention; for if the foundation is badly laid the superstructure must be bad.

Military arrangement, and movements in consequence, like the mechanism of a clock, will be imperfectand disordered by the want of a part.

Painful as the task is to describe the dark side of our affairs, it sometimes becomes a matter of indispensable necessity.

If you can't sent money, send tobacco.

The Army (considering the irritable state it is in, its suffering and composition) is a dangerous instrument to play with.

Uniformity in the currency, weights, and measures of the United States is an object of great importance, and will, I am persuaded, be duly attended to.

System in all things should be aimed at; for in execution it renders every thing more easy.

[M]y wish is, that the Convention may adopt no temporizing expedient, but probe the defects of the Constitution [i.e., the Articles of Confederation] to the bottom, and provide radical cures.

The consciousness of having discharged that duty which we owe to our country is superior to all other considerations.

In disputes, be not so desirous to overcome as to not give liberty to each one to deliver his opinion and submit to the judgment of the major part, especially if they are judges of the dispute.

... in the present State of America, our welfare and prosperity depend upon the cultivation of our lands and turning the produce of them to the best advantage.

The great Searcher of human hearts is my witness, that I have no wish, which aspires beyond the humble and happy lot of living and dying a private citizen on my own farm.

Offensive operations, often times, is the surest, if not the only means of defence.

Every action in company ought to be with some sign of respect to those present.

It is easy to make acquaintances, but very difficult to shake them off, however irksome and unprofitable they are found, after we have once committed ourselves to them.

A lottery is the perfect tax...laid only upon the willing.

It is in vain, I perceive, to look for ease and happiness in a world of troubles.

The consideration that human happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected will always continue to prompt me to promote the former by inculcating the practice of the latter.

The aggregate happiness of the society, which is best promoted by the practice of a virtuous policy, is, or ought to be, the end of all government . . . .

Merit rarely goes unrewarded.

[The adoption of the Constitution] will demonstrate as visibly the finger of Providence as any possible event in the course of human affairs can ever designate it.

I am not only retired from all public employments, but I am retiring within myself, and shall be able to view the solitary walk and tread the paths of private life with heartfelt satisfaction.

I will move gently down the stream of life until I sleep with my fathers.

When in company, put not your hands to any part of the body, not usually discovered.

It is not the mere study of the Law, but to become eminent in the profession of it, which is to yield honor and profit.

Good company will always be found much less expensive than bad.

There is a Destiny which has the control of our actions, not to be resisted by the strongest efforts of Human Nature.

The company in which you will improve most will be least expensive to you.

The situation of the general government, if it can be called a government, is shaken to its foundation, and liable to be overturned by every blast.

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

While I reiterate the professions of my dependence upon Heaven... I will observe that... no man who is profligate in his morals... can possibly be a true Christian.

To secure respect to a neutral flag requires a naval force organized and ready to vindicate it from insult or aggression.

I cannot conceive a rank more honorable, than that which flows from the uncorrupted choice of a brave and free people, the purest source and original fountain of all power.

They will avoid ... those Overgrown Military establishements which ... are ... particularly hostile to Republican liberty.

I commend you, however, for passing the time in as merry a manner as you possibly could; it is assuredly better to go laughing than crying thro' the rough journey of life.

My death has not yet quite arrived, but it is near and inevitable as night follows day.

Since the death of my father four years ago, our lives have become difficult, and I must help my family.

I only wish, while I am a servant of the public, to know the will of my masters, that I may govern my self accordingly.

Take care of the waste on the farm and turn it into useful channels’ should be the slogan of every farmer.

Nothing short of self-respect and that justice which is essential to a national character ought to involve us in war.

No distance can keep anxious lovers long asunder.

[T]he foundation of a great Empire is laid, and I please myself with a persuasion, that Providence will not leave its work imperfect.

Undertake not to teach your equal in the art himself professes; it savors arrogancy.

Peace with all the world, is my sincere wish.

Let us impart all the blessings we possess, or ask for ourselves, to the whole family of mankind.

To stand well in the estimation of one's country is a happiness that no rational creature can be insensible of.

Smaller societies must prepare the way for greater.

In the composition of the human frame there is a good deal of inflammable matter, however dormant it may lie for a time.

... the benefit arising from moderate use of strong Liquor have been experienced in all Armies, and are not to be disputed.