"We hold work, not as a curse, but as a blessing, and we regard the idler with scornful pity."
"Each man must choose, so far as the conditions allow him, the path to which he is bidden by his own peculiar powers and inclinations. But if he is a man, he must in some way or shape do a man's work."
"It is not given to us all to succeed, but it is given to us all to strive manfully to deserve success."
"We cannot retain the full measure of our self-respect if we do not retain pride in our citizenship."
—Extracts from an Address on "Manhood and Statehood."
"The true welfare of the nation is indissolubly bound up in the welfare of the farmer and wage-worker; of the man who tills the soil, and of the mechanic, the handicraftsman, and the laborer. The poorest motto upon which an American can act is the motto of 'some men down,' and the safest to follow is that of 'all men up.'"
—Extract from Speech delivered at the Dedication of the Pan-American Fair Buildings.
"The men we need are the men of strong, earnest, solid character—the men who possess the homely virtues, and who to these virtues add rugged courage, rugged honesty, and high resolve."
—Extract from Speech delivered upon the Life of General Grant.