“Great men, great nations, have not been boasters and buffoons, but perceivers of the terror of life, and have manned themselves to face it.”

“Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show themselves great.”

“Great men exist that there may be greater men.”

“The great majority of men are bundles of beginnings.”

“All men plume themselves on the improvement of society, and no man improves.”

“The characteristic of genuine heroism is its persistency. All men have wandering impulses, fits and starts of generosity. But when you have resolved to be great, abide by yourself, and do not weakly try to reconcile yourself with the world. The heroic cannot be the common, nor the common the heroic.”

“Some men's words I remember so well that I must often use them to express my thought. Yes, because I perceive that we have heard the same truth, but they have heard it better.”