“It is true, of course, that a genius may, on certain lines, do more than a brave and manly fellow who is not a genius … But, in the long run, in the great battle of life, no brilliancy of intellect, no perfection of bodily development, will count when weighed in the balance against that assemblage of virtues, active and passive, of moral qualities, which we group together under the name of character.”

A Strenuous Life, 1900

“Keep your eyes on the stars, but remember to keep your feet on the ground.”

      The Groton School, Groton, MA,
May 24, 1904

“I like the Russian people, but I abhor the Russian system of government and I cannot trust the word of those at the head.”

Letter to Sir George Otto Trevelyan
May 13, 1905

“It is not what we have that will make us a great nation; it is the way in which we use it.”

Speech in Dakota Territory
July 4, 1886

“The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value.”

Speech in Denver, CO
August 19, 1910

“Men often forget that constructive change offers the best method of avoiding destructive change; that reform is the antidote to revolution.”

Speech in Cairo, IL,
October 3, 1907

“Let us remember that, as much has been given to us, much will be expected from us; and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips and shows itself in deeds.”

 Thanksgiving Proclamation
November 2, 1901

“To be neutral between right and wrong is to serve wrong.”

Letter to J. Strachey
February 22, 1915

“We cannot possibly do our best work as a nation unless all of us know how to act in combination as well as how to act each individually for himself.”

Speech in Minneapolis, MN
September 2, 1901

“Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.”

An Autobiography
1913

“Absolute equality, absolute justice in matters of taxation will probably never be realized; but we can approximate it much more closely than at present.”

Annual Message as Governor
January 3, 1900

“An honest, courageous, and far-sighted politician is a good thing in any country.”

Speech at National University, Cairo, Egypt
March 28, 1910