"All that I have learned has led me step by step to an unshakable
conviction of the existence of God. I only believe in what I know. And that eliminates believing. Therefore I do not take
His existence on belief- I know that He exists." (Men, Women, and God)
Thomas
Edison (Inventor / Scientist)
"If we did all the things we are really
capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves..."
"Even though I am nearly deaf, I seem to be
gifted with a kind of inner hearing which enables me to detect sounds and noises that listeners do not perceive."
"Our schools are not teaching students to think. It is astonishing how many young people have difficulty in putting
their brains definitely and systematically to work..."
"Many of life's failures are experienced by
people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."
"Unfortunately, there seems
to be far more opportunity out there than ability... We should remember that good fortune often happens when opportunity
meets with preparation."
"Time is really the only capital that any human being has and the thing that
he can least afford to waste or lose..."
"The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest
his patients in the care of the human body, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease."
"I
believe that the science of chemistry alone almost proves the existence of an intelligent creator."
"If
parents pass enthusiasm along to their children, they will leave them an estate of incalculable value..."
"The
memory of my mother will always be a blessing to me..."
"I am both pleased but astonished by the fact
that mankind has not yet begun to use all the means and devices that are available for destruction. I hope that such weapons
are never manufactured in quantity."
"The United States, and other advanced nations, will someday be able to produce instruments
of death so terrible the world will be in abject terror of itself and it's ability to end civilization... "
"To me, the idea and expectation that the day is slowly and surely coming when we will be able to honestly say we are
our brother's keeper and not his oppressor is very beautiful."
"The dove is my emblem... I want to
save and advance human life, not destroy it... I am proud of the fact that I never invented weapons to kill."
"Of all my inventions, I like the phonograph best..."
"The most certain way to succeed is
to always try just one more time."
Samuel Langhorne Clemens is Mark Twain (Author)
"No civilization can be perfect until exact equality between man and woman is included." (Notebook)
"To arrive at a just estimate of a renowned man's character, one must judge it by the standards of his time,
not ours." (Joan of Arc)
"Always do right. This will gratify some people, and astonish the
rest." (Note to Young People's Society)
"It is better to support schools than jails." (Feeding
a Dog on Its Own Tail (speech))
"We believe that out of the public school grows the greatness of a nation."
(Public Education Association (speech))
"Citizenship is what makes a republic; monarchies can get along without
it. What keeps a republic on its legs is good citizenship." (Layman's Sermon (speech))
"Travel
is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." (The Innocents Abroad)
"Yes, always avoid
violence. In this age of charity and kindliness, the time has gone by for such things." (Advice to Youth
(speech))
Colin Powell (Statesman / Soldier)
"Luck tends to come to people that are well
prepared."
"The declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the 1st and 2nd Inaugural Addresses
of Thomas Jefferson are my four favorite documents."
"I go back to the Declaration, because that's
where we got it from: 'All men are created equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights.
We sometimes forget the phrase that comes after that: 'Governments are instituted among men to secure these rights.'"
"Acknowledging that men and women no matter where they are, no matter what government they are under, have certain
universal rights."
Benjamin Franklin (Statesman / Publisher)
"To relieve the misfortunes of our fellow creatures is concurring with Diety; it is godlike;"
Tranquility- be not disturbed at trifles or at accidents common or unavoidable.
Silence- speak
not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
Order- let all your things have
their places; let each part of your business have its time.
Frugality- make no expense but to do good to
others or yourself; that is, waste nothing.
Industry- lose no time; be always employed in something useful;
cut off all unnecessary actions.
Humility- imitate Jesus or Socrates.
George
Washington (1st President)
"As I am within a few minutes of leaving this City, I could not think
of departing from it without dropping you a line; especially as I do not know whether it may be in my power to write again
till I get to the Camp at Boston- I go fully trusting in that Providence, which has been more bountiful to me than I deserve,
and in full confidence of a happy meeting with you sometime in the Fall- I have not time to add more, as I am surrounded with
Company to take leave of me- I retain an unalterable affection for you, which neither time or distance can change..."
"But words, my fellow-citizens, fail me: Unutterable sensations must then be left to more expressive silence:
while, from an aching heart, I bid you all, my affectionate friends, and kind neighbours, farewell."
"The
great Searcher of human hearts knows there is no wish in mine, beyond that of living and dying an honest man, on my own farm."
"To please everybody was impossible- I therefore adopted that line of conduct which combined public advantage
with private convenience..."
"The idea of getting rails out of the dead, and decaying timber, I
much approve, for the waste which has been committed on timber and Wood hitherto, has really been shameful."
Thomas Jefferson (3rd President)
“The duty of an upright administration
is to pursue its course steadily, to know nothing of family dissensions and to cherish the good principles of both parties”
“The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time”
"I tremble for my country
when I reflect that God is just"
“The main objects of all science are the freedom and happiness
of man”
“I am not one of those who fear the people”
“Peace
and friendship with all mankind is the wisest policy”
“Opinion and the just maintenance of it
shall never be a crime in my view; nor bring injury on the individual”
“I never consider a difference
of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend”
“It is
incumbent on every generation to pay its own debt as it goes”
“I place economy among the first
and most important of Republican virtues, and public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared”
“Never fear the want of business. A man who qualifies himself well for his calling never fails of employment
in it”
“I have never conceived that having been in public life requires me to belie my sentiments
or even to conceal them”
“I have ever found in my progress through life, that acting for the
public if we always do what is right, the approbation denied in the beginning will surely follow in the end”
“There are two subjects which I shall claim a right to further as long as I have breath, the public education
and the sub-division of the countries into wards. I consider the continuance of Republican government as absolutely
hanging on these two hooks”
Abraham
Lincoln (16th President)
"I am not afraid to die, except for the fact that I have not done anything
to make the world remember that I had once lived"
"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master.
This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy."
"Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed
if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration." Lincoln's First Annual Message to Congress, December 3, 1861.
"A house divided against itself cannot
stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half-slave and half-free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved - I do not expect
the house to fall - but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other." Lincoln's 'House-Divided'
Speech in Springfield, Illinois, June 16, 1858.
"I am rather inclined to silence, and whether that be wise or
not, it is at least more unusual nowadays to find a man who can hold his tongue than to find one who cannot." The Collected
Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume IV, "Remarks at the Monogahela House" (February 14, 1861),
p. 209.
"Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today."
"In regard to this Great
Book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to man. All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated
through this book."
"I happen temporarily to occupy this big White House. I am living witness that any
one of your children may look to come here as my father's child has." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited
by Roy P. Basler, Volume VII, "Speech to One Hundred Sixty-sixth Ohio Regiment (August 22, 1864), p. 512.
"I
am not a Know-Nothing. That is certain. How could I be? How can any one who abhors the oppression of negroes, be in favor
of degrading classes of white people? Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we began by
declaring that "all men are created equal." We now practically read it "all men are created equal, except Negroes."
When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read "all men are created equal, except Negroes and foreigners and Catholics."
When it comes to this, I shall prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty - to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure and without the base alloy of hypocrisy."
Teddy Roosevelt (26th President)
“We
are face to face with our destiny and we must meet it with a high and resolute courage.”
“The
boy who is going to make a great man must not make up his mind merely to overcome a thousand obstacles, but to win in spite
of a thousand repulses and defeats.”
“We need the iron qualities that go with true manhood. We
need the positive virtues of resolution, of courage, of indomitable will, of power to do without shrinking the rough work
that must always be done.”
“Courtesy is as much a mark of a gentleman as courage.”
“Unless a man is master of his soul, all other kinds of mastery amount to little.”
“It
is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.”
“Keep your
eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground.”
"The government is
us; we are the government, you and I."
“Do what you can, with what you have, where
you are.”
"In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The
worst thing you can do is nothing."
“It is true of the Nation, as of the individual, that the greatest
doer must also be a great dreamer."
"The object of government is the welfare of the people."
"The bulk of government is not legislation but administration."
"There can be
no greater issue than that of conservation in this country."
"Conservation means development as
much as it does protection. I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use the natural resources of
our land; but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob, by wasteful use, the generations that come after us."
"The
nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased,
and not impaired, in value."
"This country will not be a permanently good place for any
of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in."
"There are
two things that I want you to make up your minds to: first, that you are going to have a good time as long as you live - I
have no use for the sour-faced man - and next, that you are going to do something worthwhile, that you are going to work hard
and do the things you set out to do."
"There is not a man of us who does not at times need
a helping hand to be stretched out to him, and then shame upon him who will not stretch out the helping hand to his brother."
"There were all kinds of things I was afraid of at first, ranging from grizzly bears to 'mean' horses
and gun-fighters; but by acting as if I was not afraid I gradually ceased to be afraid."
"A
man who is good enough to shed his blood for the country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards."
"Great
thoughts speak only to the thoughtful mind, but great actions speak to all mankind."
"The most
successful politician is he who says what the people are thinking most often in the loudest voice."
"The
only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything."
"I am only an average
man but, by George, I work harder at it than the average man."
"The best executive is
the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with
them while they do it. The country's honor must be upheld at home and abroad."
"The country
needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent, experimentation. It is common sense to take
a method and try it, if it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something."
"The
men and women who have the right ideals ... are those who have the courage to strive for the happiness which comes only with
labor and effort and self-sacrifice, and those whose joy in life springs in part from power of work and sense of duty."
"The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything."
John F. Kennedy (35th President)
“Children are the world’s most valuable
resource and the best hope for the future.”
"Let us not seek the republican answer or the democratic
answer, but the right answer."
"No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.”
“No policeman is universally popular, particularly when he uses his stick to restore law and order on his beat.”
“Those who do nothing are inviting shame as well as violence. Those who act boldly are recognizing right
as well as reality.”
“If more politicians knew poetry, and more poets knew politics, I am convinced
the world would be a little better place in which to live.”
“We must never forget that art is
not a form of propaganda: it is a form of truth.”
“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not
what your country can do for you- ask what you can do for your country.”
Ronald
Reagan (40th President)
“Whatever else history may say about me when I am gone, I hope it will
record that I appealed to your best hopes not your worst fears, to your confidence rather than your doubts... and
may all of you as Americans never forget your heroic origins, never fail to seek divine guidance, and never lose your natural,
GOD given, optimism."
"And I want to say something to the school children of America who were watching
the live coverage of the Shuttle's take-off (Challenger). I know it's hard to understand, but sometimes painful
things like this happen- It's all a part of the process of exploration and discovery; It's all part of taking
a chance at expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the faint hearted, it belongs to the brave."
"To Young Americans wondering tonight where will I go, what will I do with my future, I have a suggestion- why
not set out with your friends on the path of adventure and try to start up your own business. Follow the footsteps of
those two college students who launched one of America's
great computer firms, from the garage behind their house."
"By lowering everyone's tax
rates all the way up the income scale, each of us will have a greater incentive to climb higher, to excel, to help America
grow... the power of these incentives would send one simple straightforward message to an entire nation- America go for it
!"
"I've often wondered about the shyness of some of us in the west about standing for
these ideals that have done so much to ease the plight of man and the hardships of our imperfect world."
"Self defense is not only our right, it is our duty.”
Malcolm
X (Civil Leader)
"They've always said that I'm anti-white. I'm for anybody who's
for freedom. I'm for anybody who's for justice. I'm for anybody who's for equality."
"One of the best ways to safeguard yourself from being deceived is always to form the habit of looking at things
for yourself, listening to things for yourself, thinking for yourself, before you try and come to any judgment. Never
base your impression of someone on what someone else has said. Or upon what someone else has written. Or upon
what you read about someone that somebody else wrote."
Martin Luther King Jr. (Civil
Leader) quoted from- Letter from Birmingham jail
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice
everywhere."
"In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts
to determine whether injustices exists; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action."
"When
you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammered as you seek to explain to your six-year old daughter why she
can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes..."
"The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust.”
Winston
Churchill (Prime Minister of Great Britain)
"To be conservative at 20 is heartless and to be liberal
at 60 is plain idiocy."
"For myself I am an optimist- it does not seem to be much use being anything
else."
