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Letter to Bushrod Washington http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushrod_Washington (15 January 1783) 1780s Context: Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence; true friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.

“To encourage literature and the arts is a duty which every good citizen owes to his country.”

George Washington (1732–1799) first President of the United States

“Where are our Men of abilities? Why do they not come forth to save their Country?”

George Washington (1732–1799) first President of the United States

“Paper money has had the effect in your state that it will ever have, to ruin commerce, oppress the honest, and open the door to every species of fraud and injustice.”

George Washington (1732–1799) first President of the United States

Letter to Jabez Bowen https://founders.archives.gov/GEWN-04-04-02-0428 (9 January 1787) 1780s

“I conceive a knowledge of books is the basis upon which other knowledge is to be built.”

George Washington (1732–1799) first President of the United States

“If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known that we are at all times ready for war”

George Washington (1732–1799) first President of the United States

Fifth annual Message http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/washs05.asp (3 December 1793) 1790s Source: The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources 1745-1799 Volume 39 (General Index O-Z List of Letters) - Leather Bound

“Worry is the intrest paid by those who borrow trouble.”

George Washington (1732–1799) first President of the United States

“The turning points of lives are not the great moments. The real crises are often concealed in occurrences so trivial in appearance that they pass unobserved.”

George Washington (1732–1799) first President of the United States

“the harder the conflict, the greater the triumph.”

George Washington (1732–1799) first President of the United States

“A sensible woman can never be happy with a fool.”

George Washington (1732–1799) first President of the United States

“Happiness depends more upon the internal frame of a person’s own mind, than on the externals in the world.”

George Washington (1732–1799) first President of the United States

“Associate yourself with Men of good Quality if you Esteem your own Reputation; for 'tis better to be alone than in bad Company.”

George Washington (1732–1799) first President of the United States

This is from a set of maxims which Washington copied out in his own hand as a school-boy: "Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/the-rules-of-civility/" Rule # 56 written out by Washington ca. 1744: : These maxims originated in the late sixteenth century in France and were popularly circulated during Washington's time. Washington wrote out a copy of the 110 Rules in his school book when he was about sixteen-years old... During the days before mere hero worship had given place to understanding and comprehension of the fineness of Washington's character, of his powerful influence among men, and of the epoch-making nature of the issues he so largely shaped, it was assumed that Washington himself composed the maxims, or at least that he compiled them. It is a satisfaction to find that his consideration for others, his respect for and deference to those deserving such treatment, his care of his own body and tongue, and even his reverence for his Maker, all were early inculcated in him by precepts which were the common practice in decent society the world over. These very maxims had been in use in France for a century and a half, and in England for a century, before they were set as a task for the schoolboy Washington. :* Charles Moore in his Introduction to George Washington's Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation (1926) http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/civility/index.html, edited by Charles Moore, xi-xv Misattributed

“Experience teaches us that it is much easier to prevent an enemy from posting themselves than it is to dislodge them after they have got possession.”

George Washington (1732–1799) first President of the United States

“Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.”

George Washington (1732–1799) first President of the United States

Letter to Major-General Robert Howe (17 August 1779), published in "The Writings of George Washington": 1778-1779, edited by Worthington Chauncey Ford (1890)
Paraphrased variants:
Few men have the virtue to withstand the highest bidder.
Few men have virtue enough to withstand the highest bidder
1770s