The civil service can never be placed on a satisfactory basis until it is regulated by law.
James A. GarfieldThe chief duty of government is to keep the peace and stand out of the sunshine of the people.
James A. GarfieldMen are tending to materialism. Houses, lands, and worldly goods attract their attention, and as a mirage lure them on to death. Christianity, on the other hand leads only the natural body to death, and for the spirit, it points out a house not built with hands, eternal in the heavens... Let me urge you to follow Him, not as the Nazarene, the Man of Galilee, the carpenter's son, but as the ever living spiritual person, full of love and compassion, who will stand by you in life and death and eternity.
James A. GarfieldTrue art is but the anti-type of nature; the embodiment of discovered beauty in utility.
James A. GarfieldA noble life crowned with heroic death, rises above and outlives the pride and pomp and glory of the mightiest empire of the earth.
James A. GarfieldNow more than ever the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature. . . . If the next centennial does not find us a great nation . . . it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.
James A. Garfield