38 Quotes by Charles Sumner

Whether the Union stands or falls, I believe the profession of arms will henceforth be more desirable and more respected than it has been hitherto.

If a man has done evil in his life, he must not be complimented in marble.

Without knowledge there can be no sure progress. Vice and barbarism are the inseparable companions of ignorance. Nor is it too much to say that, except in rare instances, the highest virtue is attained only through intelligence.

The slave power dares anything, and it can be conquered only by the united masses of the people. From Congress to the people, I appeal.

The true greatness of nations is in those qualities which constitute the greatness of the individual.

War crushes with bloody heel all justice, all happiness, all that is Godlike in man. In our age there can be no peace that is not honorable; there can be no war that is not dishonorable.

Give me the money that has been spent in war and I will clothe every man, woman, and child in an attire of which kings and queens will be proud. I will build a schoolhouse in every valley over the whole earth. I will crown every hillside with a place of worship consecrated to peace.

Nothing from man's hands, no law, nor constitution, can be final. Truth alone is final.

The true grandeur of humanity is in moral elevation, sustained, enlightened and decorated by the intellect of man.