A nation cannot afford to do a mean thing.

Moral excellence is the bright consummate flower of all progress.

Give me the money that has been spent in war and I will clothe every man, woman, and child in an attire of which kings and queens will be proud. I will build a schoolhouse in every valley over the whole earth. I will crown every hillside with a place of worship consecrated to peace.

The true grandeur of humanity is in moral elevation, sustained, enlightened and decorated by the intellect of man

I am without religious feeling.

Without knowledge there can be no sure progress. Vice and barbarism are the inseparable companions of ignorance. Nor is it too much to say that, except in rare instances, the highest virtue is attained only through intelligence.

No true and permanent fame can be founded, except in labors which promote the happiness of mankind.