Quote

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
Characteristics
Adversity
Evil
Great
Surmounted
Good
Exempt
Men
Characteristic
Life
Evils
Manhood

More quotes by Patrick Henry

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Righteousness alone can exalt them [America] as a nation. Reader! Whoever thou art, remember this, and in thy sphere practice virtue thyself and encourage it in others.
Patrick Henry
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Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace! – but there is no peace.
Patrick Henry
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The eternal difference between right and wrong does not fluctuate, it is immutable.
Patrick Henry
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He that hath a blind conscience which sees nothing, a dead conscience which feels nothing, and a dumb conscience which says nothing, is in as miserable a condition as a man can be on this side of hell.
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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Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?
Patrick Henry
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The great pillars of all government and of social life [are] virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone, that renders us invincible.
Patrick Henry
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Have we the means of resisting disciplined armies, when our only defence, the militia, is put in the hands of Congress?
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 shall act as I think my duty requires.
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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There is a Book worth all other books which were ever printed.
Patrick Henry
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They tell us, sir, that we are weak unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house?
Patrick Henry
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We are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of Nature has placed in our power... the battle, sir, is not to the strong alone it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.
Patrick Henry
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We should transmit to posterity our abhorrence of slavery.
Patrick Henry
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We have not yet begun to fight.
Patrick Henry
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I am not a Virginian, I am an American.
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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Fear is the passion of slaves.
Patrick Henry