Since trade ignores national boundaries and the manufacturer insists on having the world as a market, the flag of his nation must follow him, and the doors of the nations which are closed against him must be battered down. Concessions obtained by financiers must be safeguarded by ministers of state, even if the sovereignty of unwilling nations be outraged in the process. Colonies must be obtained or planted, in order that no useful corner of the world may be overlooked or left unused.

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

What every man seeks is satisfaction. He deceives himself so long as he imagines it to lie in self-indulgence.

Energy in a nation is like sap in a tree; it rises from bottom up.

You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand

No peace can last, or ought to last, which does not recognize and accept the principle that governments derive all their just powers from the consent of the governed, and that no right anywhere exists to hand peoples from sovereignty to sovereignty as if they were property.

I am not one of those who believe that a great standing army is the means of maintaining peace, because if you build up a great profession those who form parts of it want to exercise their profession.