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1st President of the United States; commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution (1732-1799)

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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. – George WashingtonRate it:
Differences in political opinion are as unavoidable as, to a certain point, they may perhaps be necessary. – George WashingtonRate it:
Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant, and a fearful master. – George WashingtonRate it:
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 WashingtonRate it:
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. – George WashingtonRate it:
Every post is honorable in which a man can serve his country. – George WashingtonRate it:
Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force! It is a dangerous servant and a terrible master. – George WashingtonRate it:
I do not mean to exclude altogether the idea of patriotism. I know it exists, and I know it has done much in the present contest. But I will venture to assert, that a great and lasting war can never be supported on this principle alone. It must be aided by a prospect of interest, or some reward. – George WashingtonRate it:
Money, we know, will fetch anything and command the service of any man. – George WashingtonRate it:
Not only do I pray for it, on the score of human dignity, but I can clearly forsee that nothing but the rooting out of slavery can perpetuate the existence of our union, by consolidating it in a common bond of principle. – George WashingtonRate it:
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 WashingtonRate it:
It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one. – George WashingtonRate it:
Be courteous to all, but intimate with few and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. – George WashingtonRate it:
To encourage literature and the arts is a duty which every good citizen owes to his country. – George WashingtonRate it:
True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation. – George WashingtonRate it:
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 WashingtonRate it:
Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. – George WashingtonRate it:
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 WashingtonRate it:
We ought not to look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dear-brought experience. – George WashingtonRate it:
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 WashingtonRate it:
Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company. – George WashingtonRate it:
'Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world. – George WashingtonRate it:
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 WashingtonRate it:
To please everybody is impossible were I to undertake it, I should probably please nobody. – George WashingtonRate it:
I know [patriotism] exists, and I know it has done much in the present contest. But a great and lasting war can never be supported on this principle alone. It must be aided by a prospect of interest, or some reward. – George WashingtonRate it:
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. – George WashingtonRate it:
There is nothing that gives a man consequence, and renders him fit for command, like a support that renders him independent of everybody but the State he serves. – George WashingtonRate it:
Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder. – George WashingtonRate it:
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 WashingtonRate it:
Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience. – George WashingtonRate it:
Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience. – George WashingtonRate it:
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 WashingtonRate it:
You will therefore send me none but Natives, and Men of some property, if you have them. – George WashingtonRate it:
A slender acquaintance with the world must convince every man that actions, not words, are the true criterion of the attachment of friends. – George WashingtonRate it:
Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness. – George WashingtonRate it:
Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all. – George WashingtonRate it:
Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. – George WashingtonRate it:
Happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected. – George WashingtonRate it:

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.

– George WashingtonRate it:

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

– George WashingtonRate it:

Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant, and a fearful master.

– George WashingtonRate it:

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 WashingtonRate it:

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.

– George WashingtonRate it:

Every post is honorable in which a man can serve his country.

– George WashingtonRate it: