George Washington

"'Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world. "

"As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality. "

"Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company. "

"Be courteous to all, but intimate with few and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. "

"Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant of slow grow, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation. "

"Differences in political opinion are as unavoidable as, to a certain point, they may perhaps be necessary. "

"Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder. "

"Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action. "

"Happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected. "

"It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one. "

"Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience. "

"Money, we know, will fetch anything and command the service of any man. "

"Over grown military establishments are under any form of government inauspicious to liberty, and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty. "

"The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered ... deeply ... finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people. "

"The very idea of the power and the right of the people to establish Government, presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established Government. "

"To encourage literature and the arts is a duty which every good citizen owes to his country. "

"To please everybody is impossible were I to undertake it, I should probably please nobody. "

"True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation. "