Frigates are the eyes of a fleet.

Gentlemen, when the enemy is committed to a mistake we must not interrupt him too soon.

Recollect that you must be a seaman to be an officer and also that you cannot be a good officer without being a gentleman.

I owe all my success in life to having been always a quarter of an hour before my time.

Time is everything; five minutes make the difference between victory and defeat.

England expects that every man will do his duty.

Desperate affairs require desperate measures.

Duty is the great business of a sea officer; all private considerations must give way to it, however painful it may be.

A fleet of British ships at war are the best negotiators.

I could not tread these perilous paths in safety, if I did not keep a saving sense of humor.

In Sea affairs, nothing is impossible, and nothing is improbable.

You can't change laws without first changing human nature... You can't change human nature without first changing the law.

If you would listen, sir, in the sense of being aware of your conflicts and contradictions without forcing them into any particular pattern of thought, perhaps they might altogether cease.

I wish there were more humor in my work than I see in it.

I really don't have a lot of interest in national politics, and it's because I'm a skeptic. I think you can accomplish a lot more locally. I don't want to spin the wheels and not get anything done.

This was a manuscript of the night we couldn’t read.

You know how people say awards don't mean anything? Hello! I think the energy around them makes everyone cuckoo.

The chief support of an autocracy is a standing army. The chief support of a democracy is an educated people.

As far as I can tell, dumping soda on people is the equivalent of ‘Hi, it’s nice to meet you’ in this part of the world. Frankly, I think standard greetings work better, but what do I know?

I think anyone who gives you relationship advice goes off of past relationships they have that didn't work. You've got to follow your own path.

We have to articulate ourselves. Otherwise we would be cows in the field.