The only place in the world that nothing has to be explained to me is the South.

The United States must be neutral in fact as well as in name.... We must be impartial in thought as well as in actiona nationthat neither sits in judgment upon others nor is disturbed in her own counsels and which keeps herself fit and free to do what is honest and disinterested and truly serviceable for the peace of the world.

It is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into war, into the most terrible and disastrous of all wars, civilizationitself seeming to be in the balance. But the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the things we have always carried closest to our hearts.

If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience.

I lived a dream life (almost too exclusively, perhaps) when I was a lad and even now my thought goes back for refreshment to thosedays when all the world seemed to be a place of heroic adventure in which one's heart must keep its own counsel.

I had rather be defeated in a cause that will ultimately triumph than triumph in a cause that will ultimately be defeated.

Has justice ever grown in the soil of absolute power? Has not justice always come from the ... heart and spirit of men who resist power?