In settling an island, the first building erected by a Spaniard will be a church, by a Frenchman a fort, by a Dutchman a warehouse, and by an Englishman an alehouse.

To need to dominate others is to need others. The commander is dependent.

I want to be the white man’s brother, not his brother-in-law.

No nation is fit to sit in judgment upon any other nation.

I have said this before, but I shall say it again and again and again: your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars.

The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much.

The noblest kind of retribution is not to become like your enemy.

Intolerance is evidence of impotence.

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.

One of the most time-consuming things is to have an enemy.

Nothing is more narrow-minded than chauvinism or racial hatred. To me all men are equal; there are flatheads everywhere and I despise them all equally.

Patriotism is an ephemeral motive that scarcely ever outlasts the particular threat to society that aroused it.