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Quotes by George Washington


Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.
– George Washington

Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.
– George Washington
A slender acquaintance with the world must convince every man that actions, not words, are the true criterion of the attachment of friends.
– George Washington
Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness.
– George Washington
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.
– George Washington
Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation. It is better be alone than in bad company.
– George Washington
Bad seed is a robbery of the worst kind: for your pocket-book not only suffers by it, but your preparations are lost and a season passes away unimproved.
– George Washington
Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.
– George Washington
I have no other view than to promote the public good, and am unambitious of honors not founded in the approbation of my Country.
– George Washington
I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.
– George Washington
I walk on untrodden ground. There is scarcely any part of my conduct which may not hereafter be drawn into precedent.
– George Washington
If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.
– George Washington
If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known, that we are at all times ready for War.
– George Washington
It is our true policy to steer clear of entangling alliances with any portion of the foreign world.
– George Washington
It is the child of avarice, the brother of iniquity, and the father of mischief.
– George Washington
It may be laid down as a primary position, and the basis of our system, that every Citizen who enjoys the protection of a Free Government, owes not only a proportion of his property, but even of his personal services to the defense of it.
– George Washington
It will be found an unjust and unwise jealousy to deprive a man of his natural liberty upon the supposition he may abuse it.
– George Washington
Lenience will operate with greater force, in some instances than rigor. It is therefore my first wish to have all of my conduct distinguished by it.
– George Washington
Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair; the rest is in the hands of God.
– George Washington
Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.
– George Washington
Let your Discourse with Men of Business be Short and Comprehensive.
– George Washington
Let your heart feel for the afflictions and distress of everyone, and let your hand give in proportion to your purse.
– George Washington
Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.
– George Washington
Mankind, when left to themselves, are unfit for their own government.
– George Washington
My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth.
– George Washington
My manner of living is plain and I do not mean to be put out of it. A glass of wine and a bit of mutton are always ready.
– George Washington
My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.
– George Washington
My observation is that whenever one person is found adequate to the discharge of a duty... it is worse executed by two persons, and scarcely done at all if three or more are employed therein.
– George Washington
Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all.
– George Washington
Over grown military establishments are under any form of government inauspicious to liberty, and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty.
– George Washington
The constitution vests the power of declaring war in Congress; therefore no offensive expedition of importance can be undertaken until after they shall have deliberated upon the subject and authorized such a measure.
– George Washington
The foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing is a vice so mean and low that every person of sense and character detests and despises it.
– George Washington
The marvel of all history is the patience with which men and women submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments.
– George Washington
The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves.
– George Washington
The tumultuous populace of large cities are ever to be dreaded. Their indiscriminate violence prostrates for the time all public authority, and its consequences are sometimes extensive and terrible.
– George Washington
The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference - they deserve a place of honor with all that's good.
– George Washington
To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.
– George Washington
War - An act of violence whose object is to constrain the enemy, to accomplish our will.
– George Washington
We should not look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dearly bought experience.
– George Washington
When firearms go, all goes. We need them every hour.
– George Washington
When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen.
– George Washington
Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble.
– George Washington
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.
– George Washington
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 growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.
– George Washington
Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.
– George Washington
It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.
– George Washington
We are persuaded that good Christians will always be good citizens, and that where righteousness prevails among individuals the Nation will be great and happy. Thus while just government protects all in their religious rights, true religion affords to government it's surest support.
– George Washington
Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light.
– George Washington
There can be no greater error than to expect, or calculate, upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard.
– George Washington
The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government.
– George Washington
The administration of justice is the firmest pillar of government.
– George Washington
It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible.
– George Washington
Happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected.
– George Washington
Experience teaches us that it is much easier to prevent an enemy from posting themselves than it is to dislodge them after they have got possession.
– George Washington