Robert E.Lee Quotes

You cannot barter manhood for peace.

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

All military history records the triumphs of discipline and courage far more frequently than numbers and resources.

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.

As a general principle you should not force young men to do their duty, but let them do it voluntarily and thereby develop their characters.

We cannot afford to be idle, and though weaker than our opponents in men and military equipments, must endeavor to harass, if we cannot destroy them.

We must enlist our own snake and strike like a cobra against their vitals with an attack on Washington.

I am of the opinion that all who can should vote for the most intelligent, honest, and conscientious men eligible to office, irrespective of former party opinions, who will endeavour to make the new constitutions and the laws passed under them as beneficial as possible to the true interests, prosperity, and liberty of all classes and conditions of the people.

They seemed so united that I loved them as one person. Lee wrote of his son and daughter-in-law on his daughter-in-law's death.

If a friend asks a favor, you should grant it if it is reasonable; if not, tell him plainly why you cannot: You will wrong him and wrong yourself by equivocation of any kind.

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 ...

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.

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

My heart bleeds at the death of every one of our gallant men.

The enemy never sees the backs of my Texans!

So far from engaging in a war to perpetuate slavery, I am rejoiced that Slavery is abolished. I believe it will be greatly for the interest of the South. So fully am I satisfied of this that I would have cheerfully lost all that I have lost by the war, and have suffered all that I have suffered to have this object attained.

Our country demands all our strength, all our energies. To resist the powerful combination now forming against us will require every man at his place. If victorious, we will have everything to hope for in the future. If defeated, nothing will be left for us to live for.

Read history, works of truth, not novels and romances

For I consider the character of no man affected by a want of success, provided he has made an honest effort to succeed.

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

Show me a shouter, and I'll show you an also-ran. A might-have-been, an almost-was.

I am A man, not a sponge! If god wished a sponge to think, A SPONGE WOULD THINK!

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

Let us go home and cultivate our virtues.

No blame can be attached to the army for its failure to accomplish what was projected by me ... I alone am to blame, in perhaps expecting too much of its prowess and valor ... could I have foreseen that the attack on the last day would fail, I should certainly have tried some other course ... but I do not know what better course I could have pursued.

You see what a poor sinner I am, and how unworthy to possess what was given me; for that reason it has been taken away.

Death, in its silent sure march is fast gathering those whom I have longest loved, so that when he shall knock at my door, I will more willingly follow.

Traveller is my only companion ... He and I ... wander out in the mountains and enjoy sweet confidence.

Such an executive officer the sun never shone on. I have but to show him my design, and I know that it can be done, it will be done ... Straight as the needle to the pole he advanced to the execution of my purpose.

The enemy is here, and if we do not whip him, he will whip us.

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

Postal officials say that before Christmas they receive tons of letters written to Santa Claus, but after Christmas how few letters of thanks are sent to him! From childhood onward, human beings seem to be characterized by thanklessness.

A man may manifest and communicate his joy, but he should conceal and smother his grief as much as possible.

Lee assess a subordinate commander as all lion; no fox.

A Union that can only be maintained by swords and bayonets has no charm for me. If the Union is dissolved and government disrupted, I shall return to my native state and share the miseries of my people, and save in defense will draw my sword on none.

The devil's name is dullness.

I endeavored to give thanks to our Heavenly Father for all his mercies to me, for his preservation of me through all the dangers I have passed, and all the blessings which he has bestowed upon me, for I know I fall far short of my obligations

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.

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.

Let danger never turn you aside from the pursuit of honor or the service to your country ... Know that death is inevitable and the fame of virtue is immortal

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

I will attack no matter what and win the war!

Everyone should do all in his power to collect and disseminate the truth, in the hope that it may find a place in history and descend to posterity. History is not the relation of campaigns and battles and generals or other individuals, but that which shows the principles for which the South contended and which justified her struggle for those principles.

You have only always to do what is right. It will become easier by practice, and you enjoy in the midst of your trials the pleasure of an approving conscience.

Every student must be a gentleman.

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.

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

They do not know what they say. If it came to a conflict of arms, the war will last at least four years. Northern politicians will not appreciate the determination and pluck of the South, and Southern politicians do not appreciate the numbers, resources, and patient perseverance of the North. Both sides forget that we are all Americans. I foresee that our country will pass through a terrible ordeal, a necessary expiation, perhaps, for our national sins.

Cadets can neither be treated as schoolboys or soldiers.

But what a cruel thing is war to separate and destroy families and friends.

Without music, we wouldn't have an Army.

There is nothing left for me to do but to go and see General Grant and I would rather die a thousand deaths.

With all my devotion to the Union, and the feeling of loyalty and duty of an American citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relative, my children, my home. I have, therefore, resigned my commission in the Army ...

Let us pray for ourselves, that we may not lose the word "concern" out of our Christian vocabulary. Let us pray for our nation. Let us pray for those who have never known Jesus Christ and redeeming love, for moral forces everywhere, for our national leaders. Let prayer be our passion. Let prayer be our practice.

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.

Abandon your animosities and make your sons Americans!

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

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.

There is always hazard in military activity, but we must decide between the positive loss of inactivity and the risk of action.

There is a terrible war coming, and these young men who have never seen war cannot wait for it to happen, but I tell you, I wish that I owned every slave in the South, for I would free them all to avoid this war.

My chief concern is to try to be an humble, earnest Christian.

Wisdom is nothing more than healed pain.

My experience through life has convinced me that, while moderation and temperance in all things are commendable and beneficial, abstinence from spirituous liquors is the best safeguard of morals and health.

You cannot be a true man until you learn to obey.

The trite saying that honesty is the best policy has met with the just criticism that honesty is not policy. The real honest man is honest from conviction of what is right, not from policy.

I have never witnessed on any previous occasion such entire disregard of the usage of civilized warfare and the dictates of humanity.

We made a great mistake in the beginning of our struggle, and I fear, in spite of all we can do, it will prove to be a fatal mistake. We appointed all our worst generals to command our armies, and all our best generals to edit the newspapers

Go home all you boys who fought with me and help build up the shattered fortunes of our old state

We must ... submit ourselves in adversity to the will of a merciful God as cheerfully as in prosperity.

It is easier to make our wishes conform to our means than to make our means conform to our wishes.

I think it better to do right, even if we suffer in so doing, than to incur the reproach of our consciences and posterity.

It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it.

Any victory would be dear at such a price.

I was too weak to defend, so I attacked

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.

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.

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

Life Insurance trusts I consider sacred. To hazard the property of the dead & to lose the scanty earnings of fathers & husbands, who have toiled & saved that they may leave something to their families deprived of their care & the support of their labour, is to my mind the worst of crimes.

We should live, act, and say nothing to the injury of anyone. It is not only best as a matter of principle, but it is the path to peace and honor.

All this has been my fault.

If you have any fault to find with anyone, tell him, not others, of what you complain; there is no more dangerous experiment than that of undertaking to be one thing before a man's face and another behind his back.

It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it.

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.

It's the loneliest feeling in the world-to find yourself standing up when everybody else is sitting down. To have everybody look at you and say, 'What's the matter with him?' I know. I know what it feels like. Walking down an empty street, listening to the sound of your own footsteps. Shutters closed, blinds drawn, doors locked against you. And you aren't sure whether you're walking toward something, or if you're just walking away.

All motion is relative. Perhaps it is you who have moved away-by standing still

We have but one rule here, and that is that every student must be a gentleman.

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

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

Private and public life are subject to the same rules-truth and manliness are two qualities that will carry you through this world much better than policy or tact of expediency or other words that were devised to conceal a deviation from a straight line.

It is glorious to see such courage in one so young.

Ideas are easy to conceive, less easy to execute.

I would rather die a thousand deaths than surrender.

In this enlightened age, there are few I believe, but what will acknowledge, that slavery as an institution is a moral & political evil in any country. It is useless to expatiate on its disadvantages.

Lee tells his troops. After four years of arduous service marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources.

I have thought from the time of the cessation of the hostilities, that silence and patience on the part of the South was the true course; and I think so still. Controversy of all kinds will, in my opinion, only serve to continue excitement and passion, and will prevent the public mind from the acknowledgement and acceptance of the truth.

You must study to be frank with the world: Frankness is the child of honesty and courage.

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

Teach him to deny himself.

Obedience to lawful authority is the foundation of manly character.

While we see the course of the final abolition of human slavery is onward, & we give it the aid of our prayers & all justifiable means in our power, we must leave the progress as well as the result in his hands who sees the end; who chooses to work by slow influences; & with whom two thousand years are but as a single day.