Favorite Quotes from Theodore Roosevelt

[MacLaddy]

Considering the political and social climate of the day, I thought now would be a good time to post some of my favorite quotes from our 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt.

President Roosevelt was a member of the Republican Party during his time in office, yet it seems to me that he would not fall under the same mantle today. (nor any of the other options)

The messages in many of these quotes transcend politics.

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.

In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.

A man who is good enough to shed his blood for the country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards.

The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life.

It is essential that there should be organization of labor. This is an era of organization. Capital organizes and therefore labor must organize.

It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things.

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/t/theodore_roosevelt.html


And my favorite of all time, an excerpt from the speech "Citizenship In A Republic" delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on April 23rd, 1910

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/trsorbonnespeech.html

There are many other great quotes. Post if you have any favorites.

 

[MacLaddy]

The fact that this post received not a single reply- and that it went completely ignored on an intellectual forum such as this, can mean only one thing...

I must be the biggest NERD on the entire planet!

How could it possibly have come to this?

 

[lisab]

The fact that this post received not a single reply- and that it went completely ignored on an intellectual forum such as this, can mean only one thing...

I must be the biggest NERD on the entire planet!

How could it possibly have come to this?

You can probably get some formidable competition here for that title!

 

[Adyssa]

I would like to know more about Theodore Roosevelt, I've only come across his words in quote form, but he certainly had some great things to say. I always get confused with the other Roosevelt but I have an excuse (I hope!) because I'm not from the US.