George Washington

Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.

Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant, and a fearful master.

Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.

Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.

Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.

I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.

There is nothing that gives a man consequence, and renders him fit for command, like a support that renders him independent of everybody but the State he serves.
George Washington - letter to his niece Harriet Washington, October 30, 1791
It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.

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

I know [patriotism] exists, and I know it has done much in the present contest. But a great and lasting war can never be supported on this principle alone. It must be aided by a prospect of interest, or some reward.

Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force! It is a dangerous servant and a terrible master.

As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality.
George Washington - last words, 14 December 1799.
It is well, I die hard, but I am not afraid to go.

Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.

Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant of slow grow, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.

Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence.
George Washington - First Inaugural Address, Apr. 30, 1789
The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered... deeply, ...finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.

Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience.

Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.

We ought not to look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dear-brought experience.

- George Washington