“From the days when civilized man first began to strive for
self-government and democracy, success in this effort
has depended primarily upon the ability
to steer clear of extremes.”

– The Metropolitan Magazine, December 1918

“We welcome leadership, but we wish our leaders to understand that they derive their strength from us, and that, although we look
to them for guidance, we expect this guidance to be in
accordance with our interests and our ideals.”

– The Outlook, July 9, 1910

“Americanism is a question of spirit, conviction, and purpose,
not of creed or birthplace.”

– Forum, April 1894

“To bear the name of American is to bear the most
honorable of titles.”

– Forum, April 1894

“My hat’s in the ring. The fight is on and I’m stripped to the buff.”

– Press Conference, 1912

“The United States of America has not the option as to whether
it will or will not play a great part in the world.
It must play a great part.”

– The Outlook, April 1, 1911

“Honesty and common sense are the two
prime requisites for a legislator.”

– Albany, New York, 1883

“The sons of all of us will pay in the future if we of the
present do not do justice in the present.”

– Louisville, Kentucky, April 3, 1912

“No nation ever amounted to anything if it did not have
within its soul the power of fealty to a lofty ideal.”

– Berkeley, California, 1913

“When any public man says that he ‘will never compromise under any conditions,’ he is certain to receive the applause of a few emotional people who do not think correctly, and the one fact about him that
can be instantly asserted as true beyond peradventure is that,
if he is a serious personage at all, he is deliberately lying.”

– The Outlook, July 28, 1900

“I should heartily despise the public servant who failed to do his
duty because it might jeopardize his own future.”

– Letter of February 21, 1899

“I am an optimist, but I hope I am a reasonably intelligent one. I recognize that all the time there are numerous evil forces at
work, and that in places and at times they outweigh the
forces that tend for good. Hitherto, on the whole, the
good have come out ahead, and I think
that they will in the future.”

– Letter to Owen Wister, February 27, 1895