Robert E. Lee

Quotes

• “While we see the course of the final abolition of human slavery is onward, & we give it the aid of our prayers & all jus...”
• “A Union that can only be maintained by swords and bayonets has no charm for me. If the Union is dissolved and government...”
• “In this enlightened age, there are few I believe, but what will acknowledge, that slavery as an institution is a moral &...”
• “True patriotism sometimes requires of men to act exactly contrary, at one period, to that which it does at another, and ...”
• “The trite saying that honesty is the best policy has met with the just criticism that honesty is not policy. The real ho...”
• “We have fought this fight as long and as well as we know how. We have been defeated. For us as a Christian people the...”
• “We must expect reverses, even defeats. They are sent to teach us wisdom and prudence, to call forth greater energies, an...”
• “We have fought this fight as long and as well as we know how. We have been defeated ... there is now but one course to...”
• “We have fought this fight as long and as well as we know how. We have been defeated. There is now but one course to pu...”
• “I have been up to see the Congress and they do not seem to be able to do anything except to eat peanuts and chew tobacco...”
• “We should live, act, and say nothing to the injury of anyone. It is not only best as a matter of principle, but it is th...”
• “The war... was an unnecessary condition of affairs, and might have been avoided if forebearance and wisdom had been prac...”
• “You must study to be frank with the world: Frankness is the child of honesty and courage.”
• “We failed, but in the good providence of God apparent failure often proves a blessing.”
• “All motion is relative. Perhaps it is you who have moved away-by standing still”
• “It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it.”
• “It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it.”
• “Obedience to lawful authority is the foundation of manly character.”
• “It is well that war is so terrible - we would grow too fond of it.”
• “It is good that war is so horrible, or we might grow to like it.”
• “I like whiskey. I always did, and that is why I never drink it.”
• “Cadets can neither be treated as schoolboys or soldiers.”
• “The education of a man is never completed until he dies.”
• “Abandon your animosities and make your sons Americans!”
• “Read history, works of truth, not novels and romances”
• “The devil's name is dullness.”
• “Let the tent be struck.”