“A desire to be observed, considered, esteemed, praised, beloved, and admired by his fellows is one of the earliest as well as the keenest dispositions discovered in the heart of man.”

Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone.

Defeat appears to me preferable to total inaction.

Above all, except the wife and children, I want to see my books.

To furnish the means of acquiring knowledge is, the greatest benefit that can be conferred upon mankind. It prolongs life itself and enlarges the sphere of existence.

The will of the people is the source and the happiness of the people the end of all legitimate government upon earth.

Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people.

I read my eyes out and can’t read half enough neither. The more one reads the more one sees we have to read.

I am a warrior, so that my son may be a merchant, so that his son may be a poet.

To believe all men honest would be folly. To believe none so, is something worse.

It was the special purpose of Christ’s appearance upon earth to bring immortality to light.

Be a great speaker, become a leader.

Roll, years of promise, rapidly roll round, till not a slave shall on this earth be found.

Thus situated, the perilous experiment must be made. Let me make it with full deliberations, and be prepared for the consequences.

Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.

Virtue is not always amiable.

No man is entirely free from weakness and imperfection in this life.

Find your vision, and let it guide you in all that you do. If you lack vision, look inside yourself. Draw on your natural gifts and desires.

What do I mean by loving ourselves properly? I mean first of all, desiring to live, accepting life as a very great gift and a great good, not because of what it gives us, but because of what it enables us to give to others.

Do not desire to fit in. Desire to lead.

If this should end in fire come, fill this desire.

It is not for its own sake that men desire money, but for the sake of what they can purchase with it.

Man naturally desires, not only to be loved, but to be lovely; or to be that thing which is the natural and proper object of love.

Duty without love is deplorable. Duty with love is desirable. Love without duty is Divine.

A man’s wealth must be determined by the relation of his desires and expenditures to his income. If he feels rich on ten dollars, and has everything else he desires, he really is rich.