"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought."
"Washington is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm."
"The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment; but it is no less than a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy."
"I am the one person who can truthfully say, I got my job through the New York Times."
"Modern cynics and skeptics ... see no harm in paying those to whom they entrust the minds of their children a smaller wage than is paid to those to whom they entrust the care of their plumbing."
"The path we have chosen for the present is full of hazards, as all paths are.... The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission."
"A nation which has forgotten the quality of courage which in the past has been brought to public life is not as likely to insist upon or regard that quality in its chosen leaders today - and in fact we have forgotten."
"Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind... War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today."
"All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin. And therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words ìIch bin ein Berliner!î"
"To state the facts frankly is not to despair the future nor indict the past. The prudent heir takes careful inventory of his legacies and gives a faithful accounting to those whom he owes an obligation of trust."
"I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for our victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit."
"We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed."
"Perfect valour consists in doing without witnesses that which we would be capable of doing before everyone."
"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought."
"Don’t ever take a fence down until you know the reason it was put up."
"Our task is not to fix the blame for the past, but to fix the course for the future."
"My imagination makes me human and makes me a fool; it gives me all the world and exiles me from it."
"Let us welcome controversial books and controversial authors."
"Leadership and learning are indispensible to each other."
"The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie - deliberate, contrived, and dishonest - but the myth - persistent, persuasive, and realistic."
"If we cannot now end our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity."
"Above all, we are coming to understand that the arts incarnate the creativity of a free people. When the creative impulse cannot flourish, when it cannot freely select its methods and objects, when it is deprived of spontaneity, then society severs the root of art."
"We should not let our fears hold us back from pursuing our hopes."
"The high office of President has been used to foment a plot to destroy the American's freedom, and before I leave office I must inform the citizen of his plight."
"Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource."