Mankind, when left to themselves, are unfit for their own government.

It is far better to be alone, than to be in bad company.

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.

Laws made by common consent must not be trampled on by individuals.

Laws made by common consent must not be trampled on by individuals.

Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.

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

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

To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.

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.

Friendship is a plant of slow growth and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.

Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair; the rest is in the hands of God.

If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.

War - An act of violence whose object is to constrain the enemy, to accomplish our will.

Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.

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.

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.

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.

Let your Discourse with Men of Business be Short and Comprehensive.

There is nothing which can better deserve your patronage, than the promotion of science and literature. Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness.

Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all.

Happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected.

Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company.

Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light.

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.

My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth.

It is better to be alone than in bad company.

Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness.

The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves.