At dræbe hunden kurerer ikke biddet.
De fleste mennesker er lige så lykkelige, som de beslutter sig til at være.
Demokrati er den kunst og videnskab at styre cirkus fra abeburet.
Demokrati: regering af folket gennem folket for folket. Det er min erfaring, at mennesker uden laster heller ikke har nogle dyder.
Du kan ikke hjælpe de fattige ved at udrydde de rige.
Du kan ikke slippe for morgendagens ansvar ved at undvige det i dag.
Du kan sagtens narre alle folk i nogen tid, og nogle folk hele tiden, men du kan ikke narre alle folk hele tiden.
Enhver mand over 40 er ansvarlig for sit ansigt.
Gud elsker den jævne mand, derfor har han skabt så mange af dem.
Hvis man har fat i en elefants bagben, og den forsøger at løbe væk, er det klogest at lade den løbe.
Hvor mange ben har en hund, hvis vi kalder halen for et ben. Fire! At kalde halen for et ben, gør den ikke til et ben.
Intet menneske er godt nok til at herske over et andet uden dennes samtykke.
Lige så lidt som jeg vil være slave, vil jeg være herre. Det er min opfattelse af demokrati.
Man kan ikke give mennesker varig hjælp ved at gøre det for dem, som de selv burde gøre.
Man kan narre nogle mennesker hele tiden, og alle mennesker en gang imellem, men man kan ikke narre alle mennesker hele tiden.
Min fader lærte mig at arbejde; han lærte mig ikke at elske det.
Og til slut er det ikke mængden af år i dit liv, der tæller der er mængden af liv i dine år.
Ødelægger jeg ikke mine fjender, når jeg gør dem til mine venner.
Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?
And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.
As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy.
Democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage.
Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people.
Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.
I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me.
I don't know who my grandfather was; I am much more concerned to know what his grandson will be.
I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.
If once you forfeit the confidence of your fellow-citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem.
It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.
It often requires more courage to dare to do right than to fear to do wrong.
Marriage is neither heaven nor hell. It is simply purgatory.
My father taught me to work; he did not teach me to love it.
Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.
No matter how much the cats fight, there always seem to be plenty of kittens.
Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.
The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.
The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep's throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty.
We should be too big to take offense and too noble to give it.
Whatever you are, be a good one.
With malice toward none, with charity for all, ...let us strive on to finish the work we are in, ...to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.
Writing ...is the great invention of the world.
You can fool some of the people all the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all the time.
You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.