"We must consult our means rather than our wishes."

"It is substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government."

"I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy."

"Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for, I have grown not only gray, but almost blind in the service of my country. - March 15, 1783"

"Real men despise battle, but will never run from it."

"[death]...the abyss from where no traveler is permitted to return"

"Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all"

"Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all"

"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."

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

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

"Where are our Men of abilities? Why do they not come forth to save their Country?"

"The turning points of lives are not the great moments. The real crises are often concealed in occurrences so trivial in appearance that they pass unobserved."

"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."

"I conceive a knowledge of books is the basis upon which other knowledge is to be built."

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

"The tyrant has fallen, and Iraq is free."

"The thing that's important for me is to remember what's the most important thing."

"The important question is, How many hands have I shaked?"

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? ... That's interesting. I hadn't heard that."

"Now, there are some who would like to rewrite history - revisionist historians is what I like to call them."

"So, for example, a country was into recession right after I was sworn in, a dot-com bust had taken place. Then the attacks of September the 11th, and then of course the great financial meltdown in the -the fundamental question facing any presidency is how do you deal with the hand you're dealt?"

"The resolve of our great nation is being tested. But make no mistake, we will show the world that we will pass the test."

"So, I'm lying on the couch and Laura walks in and I say, 'Free at last,' and she says 'You're free all right, you're free to do the dishes.' So I say, 'You're talking to the former president, baby,' and she said, 'consider this your new domestic policy agenda.'"