“The true Mason takes full responsibility for the condition of his character and ever strives for its perfection.”

We have a government of limited power under the Constitution, and we have got to work out our problems on the basis of law.

The man with the average mentality, but with control, with a definite goal, and a clear conception of how it can be gained, and above all, with the power of application and labor, wins in the end.

I know this, and I know it from actual experience in the Orient, that the progress of modern Christian civilization has largely depended on the earnest hard work of the Christian missions of every denomination.

We shall have to begin all over again. [Taft hoped that] the Senators might change their minds, or that the people might change the Senate; instead of which they changed me.

Enthusiasm for a cause sometimes warps judgment.

The world is not going to be saved by legislation.

We, as Unitarians, may feel that the world is coming our way.

Presidents come and go, but the Supreme Court goes on forever.

We passed the Children’s Bureau bill calculated to prevent children from being employed too early in factories.

The President cannot make clouds to rain and cannot make the corn to grow. He cannot make business good, although when these things occur, political parties do claim some credit for the good things that have happened in this way

We can’t have a decent government unless those in power exercise self restraint.

I know how irritating it is to have somebody else lay down rules for your moral uplift, but you’ve got to stand a great deal in order to make progress.

Anyone who has taken the oath I have just taken must feel a heavy weight of responsibility. If not, he has no conception of the powers and duties of the office.

Too many people don’t care what happens so long as it doesn’t happen to them.

We live in a stage of politics, where legislators seem to regard the passage of laws as much more important than the results of their enforcement.

I am in favor of helping the prosperity of all countries because, when we are all prosperous, the trade with each becomes more valuable to the other.

Playing our parts. Yes, we all have to do that and from childhood on, I have found that my own character has been much harder to play worthily and far harder at times to comprehend than any of the roles I have portrayed.

Does money upset the hearts of learned men? He answered, “men whose hearts are changed by money are not learned.”

Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes.

Our words reveal our thoughts; our manners mirror our self-esteem; our actions reflect our character; our habits predict the future.

You possess all the attributes of a demagogue; a screeching, horrible voice, a perverse, crossgrained nature and the language of the market-place. In you all is united which is needful for governing.

A human-being is not a human-being while his tendencies include self-indulgence, covetousness, temper and attacking other people.

What we need in appointive positions is men of knowledge and experience who have sufficient character to resist temptations.

Characteristics of a popular politician: a horrible voice, bad breeding, and a vulgar manner.