Be of good courage, my son, and remember that the best men always make themselves.

Liberty ought to be the direct end of your government.

My most cherished possession I wish I could leave you is my faith in Jesus Christ, for with Him and nothing else you can be happy, but without Him and with all else you'll never be happy.

I have now disposed of all my property to my family. There is one thing more I wish I could give them, and that is the Christian religion.

I know of no way of judging the future but by the past.

The battle, Sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, Sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable; and let it come! I repeat, Sir, let it come!

Bad men cannot make good citizens. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience are incompatible with freedom.