“Life is not easy, and least of all is it easy for either the man or the nation that aspires to do great deeds.”

New York City,
February 26, 1903

“War is a dreadful thing and unjust war is a crime against humanity.”

Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris,
April 23, 1910

“The performance of duty, and not an indulgence in vapid ease and vapid pleasure, is all that makes life worth while.”

An Autobiography,
1913

“You cannot have honesty in public life unless the average citizen demands honesty in public life.”

Speech in Chicago, IL,
September 8, 1910

“Good weapons are necessary, but if you put the best weapon that can be invented into the hands of a coward, he will be beaten by a brave man with a club.”

Speech in Kansas City, MO,
May 1, 1903

“We cannot do great deeds as a nation unless we are willing to do the small things that make up the sum of greatness.”

Speech in New York City,
May 30, 1899

“The first requisite of a good citizen in this Republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his weight.”

Speech in New York,
November 11, 1902

“We abhor brutality and wrongdoing, whether exhibited by nations or by individuals.”

Outlook Magazine,
September 9, 1911

“A great free people owes it to itself and to all mankind not to sink into helplessness before the powers of evil.”

Fourth Annual Message to Congress,
December 6, 1904

“Justice consists not in being neutral between right and wrong, but finding out the right and upholding it, wherever found, against the wrong.”

Fear God and Take Your Own Part,
1916

“Diplomacy is utterly useless where there is no force behind it.”

Speech at the Naval War College,
June 2, 1897