The quote database

I will not follow where the path may lead, but I will go where there is no path, and I will leave a trail.

Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman.

These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale, but surely, surely, a great rich country like ours will see that those who are dependent on us are properly provided for.

We are weak, writing is difficult, but for my own sake I do not regret this journey, which has shown that Englishmen can endure hardships, help one another, and meet death with as great a fortitude as ever in the past.

We took risks, we knew we took them; things have come out against us, and therefore we have no cause for complaint, but bow to the will of Providence, determined still to do our best to the last.

We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker, of course, and the end cannot be far.

A man must have the courage to be himself, and not the shadow or the echo of another.

Let us strive hardily for success even if by so doing we risk failure, spurning the poorer souls of small endeavor who know neither failure nor success.

It is never wrong to do the right thing.

No terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works.

From that event to the close of the war, I never experienced trepidation upon confronting an enemy, though I always felt more or less anxiety.

So, if you want to change the world, don’t back down from the sharks.

There are a lot of sharks in the world. If you hope to complete the swim you will have to deal with them.

We shall enter into any war with a full consciousness of the awful consequences that it always entails, whether successful or not, and we, of course, shall make every effort consistent with national honor and the highest national interest to avoid a resort to arms.

War should never be entered upon until every agency of peace has failed; peace is preferable to war in almost every contingency.

Imperturbability means coolness and presence of mind under all circumstances, calmness amid storm, clearness of judgment in moments of grave peril, immobility, impassiveness, or, to use an old and expressive word, phlegm.