Robert E. Lee Quotes

A nation which does not remember what it was yesterday does not know where it is today.

Mr. Blair, I look upon secession as anarchy. If I owned the four millions of slaves in the South, I would sacrifice them all to the Union; but how can I draw my sword upon Virginia, my native State?

There are few, I believe, in this enlightened age, who will not acknowledge that slavery as an institution is a moral and political evil.

A land without memories is a people without liberty.

Remember, we are all one country now. Dismiss from your mind all sectional feeling, and bring them up to be Americans.

I have always observed that wherever you find the negro, everything is going down around him, and wherever you find the white man, you see everything around him improving.

I believe it to be the duty of everyone to unite in the restoration of the country and the reestablishment of peace and harmony.

The consolidation of the states into one vast empire, sure to be aggressive abroad and despotic at home, will be the certain precursor of ruin which has overwhelmed all that preceded it.

So far from engaging in a war to perpetuate slavery, I am rejoiced that slavery is abolished.

In all my perplexities and distresses, the Bible has never failed to give me light and strength.

The enemy never sees the backs of my Texans!

Abandon your animosities and make your sons Americans!

I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot control himself.

What a cruel thing war is... to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbors.

Get correct views of life, and learn to see the world in its true light. It will enable you to live pleasantly, to do good, and, when summoned away, to leave without regret.

The war... was an unnecessary condition of affairs, and might have been avoided if forebearance and wisdom had been practiced on both sides.

No day should be lived unless it was begun with a prayer of thankfulness and an intercession for guidance.

There is no more dangerous experiment than that of undertaking to be one thing before a man's face and another behind his back.

Act with a determination not to be turned aside by thoughts of the past and fears of the future.

The dominant party cannot reign forever, and truth and justice will prevail at last.

I can only say that I am nothing but a poor sinner, trusting in Christ alone for salvation.

True patriotism sometimes requires of men to act exactly contrary, at one period, to that which it does at another, and the motive which impels them the desire to do right is precisely the same.

We have fought this fight as long, and as well as we know how. We have been defeated. For us as a Christian people, there is now but one course to pursue. We must accept the situation.

All I ever wanted was a Virginia farm, no end of cream and fresh butter and fried chicken - not one fried chicken, or two, but unlimited fried chicken.

A Union that can only be maintained by swords and bayonets, and in which strife and civil war are to take the place of brotherly love and kindness, has no charm for me.

Sir, if you ever presume again to speak disrespectfully of General Grant in my presence, either you or I will sever his connection with this university.

Never do a wrong thing to make a friend or to keep one.

The education of a man is never completed until he dies.

I tremble for my country when I hear of confidence expressed in me. I know too well my weakness, that our only hope is in God.

What a glorious world Almighty God has given us. How thankless and ungrateful we are, and how we labor to mar his gifts.

Alabama soldiers, all I ask of you is to keep up with the Texans!

What a beautiful world God, in His loving kindness to His creatures, has given us! What a shame that men endowed with reason and knowledge of right should mar His gifts.

We must forgive our enemies. I can truly say that not a day has passed since the war began that I have not prayed for them.

Marry...into a family that will enable your children to feel proud of both sides of the house.

I like whiskey. I always did, and that is why I never drink it.

To be a good soldier, you must love the army. To be a good commander, you must be willing to order the death of the thing you love.

There are things in the Old Book which I may not be able to explain, but I fully accept it as the infallible Word of God, and receive its teachings as inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Wisdom is nothing more than healed pain.

The time is not come for impartial history. If the truth were told just now, it would not be credited.

We have only one rule here - to act like a gentleman at all times.

Duty, then is the sublimest word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more; you should never wish to do less.

Read history, works of truth, not novels and romances

I consider the proper education of our youths one of the most important objects now to be attained and one from which the greatest benefits may be expected.

The real honest man is honest from conviction of what is right, not from policy.

There is a true glory and a true honor: the glory of duty done--the honor of the integrity of principle.

I was too weak to defend, so I attacked

You must be careful how you walk and where you go, for there are those following you who will set their feet where yours are set.

I did only what my duty demanded. I could have taken no other course without dishonor.

My trust is in the mercy and wisdom of a kind Providence, who ordereth all things for our good.

There is scarcely anything that is right that we cannot hope to accomplish by labor and perseverance. But the first must be earnest and the second unremitting.