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Adversity toughens manhood, and the characteristic of the good or the great man is not that he has been exempt from the evils of life, but that he has surmounted them.

Patrick Henry

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Patrick Henry
Age: 63 †
Born: 1736
Born: May 29
Died: 1799
Died: June 6
Governor Of Virginia
Lawyer
Politician
Slaveholder
Hanover County
Virginia
Henry
Adversity
Evil
Great
Surmounted
Good
Exempt
Men
Characteristic
Life
Evils
Manhood
Characteristics

More quotes by Patrick Henry

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....I am sure that the dangers of this system (the Federal Constitution) are real, when those who have no similar interest with the people of this country (the South) are to legislate for us - when our dearest rights are to be left, in the hands of those, whose advantage it will be to infringe them.
Patrick Henry
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This house protected by an armed citizen. There is absolutely nothing here worth dying for.
Patrick Henry
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It is natural to man to indulge in the illusion of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, till she transforms us into beasts.
Patrick Henry
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The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.
Patrick Henry
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Give me liberty or give me death.
Patrick Henry
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I shall act as I think my duty requires.
Patrick Henry
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Jealousy is the only vice that gives no pleasure
Patrick Henry
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I believe a time will come when an opportunity will be offered to abolish this lamentable evil. Everything we do is to improve it, if it happens in our day if not, let us transmit to our descendants, together with our slaves, a pity for their unhappy lot and an abhorrence of slavery.
Patrick Henry
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The King has degenerated into a tyrant and forfeits all rights to his subjects' obedience.
Patrick Henry
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The whole economy of this lower world proves that it is by labor and perseverance only that good is obtained and evil is avoided.
Patrick Henry
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Were my soul trembling on the wing of eternity, were this hand freezing to death, were my voice choking with the last struggle, I would still, with the last gasp of that voice, implore you to remember the truth: God has given America to be free.
Patrick Henry
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I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience.
Patrick Henry
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I know not what others may choose but, as for me, give me liberty or give me death.
Patrick Henry
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Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!
Patrick Henry
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My great objection to this government is, that it does not leave us the means of defending our rights, or of waging war against tyrants.
Patrick Henry
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. . . Virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone that renders us invincible. These are the tactics we should study. If we lose these, we are conquered, fallen indeed . . . so long as our manners and principles remain sound, there is no danger.
Patrick Henry
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When the American spirit was in its youth, the language of America was different: Liberty, sir, was the primary object.
Patrick Henry
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Being a Christian... is a character which I prize far above all this world has or can boast.
Patrick Henry
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We should transmit to posterity our abhorrence of slavery.
Patrick Henry
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[Our Constitution] is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.
Patrick Henry