“So we'll just let things take their course, and never be sorry.”

“There is a fullness of time for things. You have to know when to prod and when to be quiet. When to let things take their course.”

“Let's go! Attack! You can't lose. Sure, we'll have casualties. Sure, we'll have losses. Sure we'll have wounds. But we'll win, because we cannot lose. It's impossible, for God is with us. We're on the offensive. We're moving. We're attacking. We're active. We're doing something--getting things done--acting, not just talking--samples, not just sermons--activists, not just theorists--converting, changing, conquering.”

“Let's change things.
Let's danger it up.
We're crazy enough.
I just can't take it.”

“Up to this time the argument of the abolitionists, who since 1833 had been storming the national conscience — for they knew the real citadel of a nation — with the assertion that slavery was an absolute wrong, had been met by the reply, 'Yes, yes; we know all about that. Of course it's a great wrong. The South agrees to that. It's dreadful sorry about it — but it's got the nasty thing, and it says if we'll only let it alone it will settle itself. Slavery is one of those things that work out themselves. The more you talk the worse it is. Besides, it's their own affair; we've nothing to do with it. Let 'em alone! Let 'em alone!”

“I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself”

“I'm sorry for my inability to let unimportant things go, for my inability to hold on to the important things.”

“Of course, people will laugh at you, but people laugh at a great many things so there is no need to take it personally.”

“When you grow up--and from the look of things, you have awhile--but you learn things never go back to normal simply because everyone's sorry. Sorry is ridiculous.”

“Never let any Government imagine that it can choose perfectly safe courses… Prudence consists in knowing how to distinguish the character of troubles, and for choice to take the lesser evil.”