My own definition of leadership is this: The capacity and the will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence.

Every soldier must know, before he goes into battle, how the little battle he is to fight fits into the larger picture, and how the success of his fighting will influence the battle as a whole.

The first duty of a leader is opti­mism. How does your sub­or­di­nate feel after meet­ing with you? Does he feel uplifted? If not, you are not a leader.

As God once said, and I think rightly.

Discipline strengthens the mind so that it becomes impervious to the corroding influence of fear.

Rule 1, on page 1 of the book of war, is: 'Do not march on Moscow'... Rule 2 is: Do not go fighting with your land armies in China.

The harder the fighting and the longer the war, the more the infantry, and in fact all the arms, lean on the gunners.

Let no man surrender so long as he is unwounded and can fight.

Im my profession you have to mystify the enemy.

I was well beaten myself, and I am better for it.

A Marine should be sworn to the patient endurance of hardships, like the ancient knights; and it is not the least of these necessary hardships to have to serve with sailors.

It's your destiny to be here, Dana.""Oh really. How nice. Is it Brandon's destiny to be here too?""Yep.

In a like manner, as soon as we know the meaning of being and the meaning of nonbeing, we know that a thing cannot be and not be at one and the same time, and under the same formal consideration.

He who has great power should use it lightly.

Mythology is not religion. It may rather be regarded as the ancient substitute, the poetical counterpart, for dogmatic theology.

Though you should not fear failure, you should do your very best to avoid it.

A successful man cannot realize how hard an unsuccessful man finds life.

We certainly do not regard it as right that the citizens of a large country should dominate those of a small adjoining country merely because they are more numerous.

I had been very close to Anne Bancroft when we worked together in The Miracle Worker

Alexander knew that before he had light instead of darkness, he had to deserve light instead of darkness.

It is an illusion that youth is happy, an illusion of those who have lost it.