Every great man of business has got somewhere a touch of the idealist in him.

We [Americans] have a great ardor for gain; but we have a deep passion for the rights of man.

I am not willing to be drawn further into the toils. I cannot accede to the acceptance of gifts upon terms which take the educational policy of the university out of the hands of the Trustees and Faculty and permit it to be determined by those who give money.

We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers.

It's harder for a leader to be born in a palace than to be born in a cabin.

One cool judgment is worth a thousand hasty councils. The thing to do is to supply light and not heat. Ay any rate, if it is heat it ought to be white heat and not sputter, because sputtering heat is apt to spread the fire. There ought, if there is any heat at all, to be that warmth of the heart which makes every man thrust aside his own personal feeling, his own personal interest, and take thought of the welfare and benefit of others.

Sometimes people call me an idealist. Well, that is the way I know I am an American. America is the only idealistic nation in the world.