Patrick Henry Quotes

The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.

This is all the inheritance I give to my dear family. The religion of Christ will give them one which will make them rich indeed.

If this be treason, make the most of it!

United we stand, divided we fall. Let us not split into factions which must destroy that union upon which our existence hangs.

The distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders are no more. I Am Not A Virginian, But An American!

[Our Constitution] is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.

When the American spirit was in its youth, the language of America was different: Liberty, sir, was the primary object.

It is when a people forget God, that tyrants forge their chains.

The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.

God made me blind and unable to walk. BIG DEAL! He gave me the ability... the musical gifts I have... the great opportunity to meet new people.

I know not what others may choose but, as for me, give me liberty or give me death.

I know of no way of judging the future but by the past.

The Bible is worth all the other books which have ever been printed.

Adversity toughens manhood, and the characteristic of the good or the great man is not that he has been exempt from the evils of life, but that he has surmounted them.

I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience.

Being a Christian... is a character which I prize far above all this world has or can boast.

My most cherished possession I wish I could leave you is my faith in Jesus Christ, for with Him and nothing else you can be happy, but without Him and with all else you'll never be happy.

Bad men cannot make good citizens. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience are incompatible with freedom.

The militia is our ultimate safety. We can have no security without it. The great object is that every man be armed.

Show me that age and country where the rights and liberties of the people were placed on the sole chance of their rulers being good men, without a consequent loss of liberty?

Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell; and George the Third — ['Treason!' cried the Speaker] — may profit by their example. If this be treason, make the most of it.

The great pillars of all government and of social life [are] virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone, that renders us invincible.

Fear is the passion of slaves.

You ought to be extremely cautious, watchful, jealous of your liberty; for instead of securing your rights, you may lose them forever.

Are we at last brought to such an humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense?

The great object is that every man be armed.

The first thing I have at heart is American liberty; the second thing is American union.

Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction?

The eternal difference between right and wrong does not fluctuate, it is immutable.

I believe a time will come when an opportunity will be offered to abolish this lamentable evil.

It is natural to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes to that siren until she allures us to our death.

I shall act as I think my duty requires.

My great objection to this government is, that it does not leave us the means of defending our rights, or of waging war against tyrants.

This house protected by an armed citizen. There is absolutely nothing here worth dying for.

The people have a right to keep and bear arms.

Faith has played a major role in my life. Whenever I feel an obstacle is too great, I can always go to God in prayer and He'll help me through it.

For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst and provide for it.

You shouldn’t say I can’t until you’ve tried.

Have we the means of resisting disciplined armies, when our only defence, the militia, is put in the hands of Congress?

Perfect freedom is as necessary to the health and vigor of commerce as it is to the health and vigor of citizenship.

Bad men cannot make good citizens.

O sir, we should have fine times, indeed, if, to punish tyrants, it were only sufficient to assemble the people! Your arms, wherewith you could defend yourselves, are gone.

We have not yet begun to fight.

We are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of Nature has placed in our power... the battle, sir, is not to the strong alone it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.

Human nature will never part with power. Look for an example of a voluntary relinquishment of power from one end of the globe to another - you will find none.

There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us.

Liberty ought to be the direct end of your government.

Not disabilities at all - more Abilities.

Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?

Give me liberty or give me death.