Patrick Henry Quotes - Page 2

The King has degenerated into a tyrant and forfeits all rights to his subjects' obedience.

The Bible is worth all the other books which have ever been printed.

When the American spirit was in its youth, the language of America was different: Liberty, sir, was the primary object.

If you have given up your militia, and Congress shall refuse to arm them, you have lost every thing. Your existence will be precarious, because you depend on others, whose interests are not affected by your infelicity.

He that hath a blind conscience which sees nothing, a dead conscience which feels nothing, and a dumb conscience which says nothing, is in as miserable a condition as a man can be on this side of hell.

This house protected by an armed citizen. There is absolutely nothing here worth dying for.

Are we at last brought to such an humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense?

It is natural for man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts... For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth, to know the worst, and to provide for it.

Suspicion is a Virtue, if in the interests of the good of the people.

Human nature will never part with power. Look for an example of a voluntary relinquishment of power from one end of the globe to another - you will find none.

I shall act as I think my duty requires.

Adversity toughens manhood, and the characteristic of the good or the great man is not that he has been exempt from the evils of life, but that he has surmounted them.

The officers of Congress, may come upon you now, fortified with all the terrors of paramount federal authority. Excisemen taxmen may come in multitudes; for the limitation of their numbers no man knows. They may, unless the general government be restrained ... go into your cellars and rooms, and search, ransack, and measure, everything you eat, drink, and wear.

The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.

This is all the inheritance I give to my dear family. The religion of Christ will give them one which will make them rich indeed.

Being a Christian... is a character which I prize far above all this world has or can boast.

We have not yet begun to fight.

That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of the conscience; and it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each other.

Liberty ought to be the direct end of your government.

The battle is not to the strong alone. It is to the vigilant, the active, and the brave. A small, disciplined militia can not only hold out against a larger force, but drive it back, because what they're fighting for rightfully belongs to them.

Is the relinquishment of the trial by jury and the liberty of the press necessary for your liberty? Will the abandonment of your most sacred rights tend to the security of your liberty? Liberty, the greatest of all earlthy blessings - give us that precious jewel, and you may take every things else! . . . Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel.

Bad men cannot make good citizens.

Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction?

For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst and provide for it.

The great object is that every man be armed.