Top 100 Robert E.Lee Quotes
#1. We poor sinners need to come back from our wanderings to seek pardon through the all-sufficient merits of our Redeemer. And we need to pray earnestly for the power of the Holy Spirit to give us a precious revival in our hearts and among the unconverted.
Robert E.Lee
#2. 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.
Robert E.Lee
#3. 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 ...
Robert E.Lee
#4. 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.
Robert E.Lee
#5. There is nothing left for me to do but to go and see General Grant and I would rather die a thousand deaths.
Robert E.Lee
#6. It is well that war is so terrible. We should grow too fond of it.
Robert E.Lee
#7. I pray that on this day [Christmas] when only peace and good-will are preached to mankind, better thoughts may fill the hearts of our enemies and turn them to peace.
Robert E.Lee
#8. 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 ...
Robert E.Lee
#9. I can only say that I am nothing but a poor sinner, trusting in Christ alone for salvation.
Robert E.Lee
#11. 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.
Robert E.Lee
#12. The framers of our Constitution never exhausted so much labor, wisdom and forbearance in its formation if it was intended to be broken up by every member.
Robert E.Lee
#13. 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
Robert E.Lee
#14. General Longstreet,when once in a fight, was a most brilliant soldier; but he was the hardest man to move I had in my army.
Robert E.Lee
#15. I will attack no matter what and win the war!
Robert E.Lee
#16. We must ... submit ourselves in adversity to the will of a merciful God as cheerfully as in prosperity.
Robert E.Lee
#17. 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.
Robert E.Lee
#18. The war ... was an unnecessary condition of affairs, and might have been avoided if forebearance and wisdom had been practiced on both sides.
Robert E.Lee
#19. Remember, we are all one country now. Dismiss from your mind all sectional feeling, and bring them up to be Americans.
Robert E.Lee
#20. I have fought against the people of the North because I believed they were seeking to wrest from the South its dearest rights. But I have never cherished toward them bitter or vindictive feelings, and I have never seen the day when I did not pray for them.
Robert E.Lee
#21. A man may manifest and communicate his joy, but he should conceal and smother his grief as much as possible.
Robert E.Lee
#22. I believe it to be the duty of everyone to unite in the restoration of the country and the reestablishment of peace and harmony.
Robert E.Lee
#23. 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.
Robert E.Lee
#24. We must enlist our own snake and strike like a cobra against their vitals with an attack on Washington.
Robert E.Lee
#25. 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.
Robert E.Lee
#26. You must study to be frank with the world: Frankness is the child of honesty and courage.
Robert E.Lee
#27. Marry ... into a family that will enable your children to feel proud of both sides of the house.
Robert E.Lee
#28. 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.
Robert E.Lee
#29. 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.
Robert E.Lee
#30. My trust is in the mercy and wisdom of a kind Providence, who ordereth all things for our good.
Robert E.Lee
#31. Go home all you boys who fought with me and help build up the shattered fortunes of our old state
Robert E.Lee
#32. I think it better to do right, even if we suffer in so doing, than to incur the reproach of our consciences and posterity.
Robert E.Lee
#33. It is easier to make our wishes conform to our means than to make our means conform to our wishes.
Robert E.Lee
#34. 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
Robert E.Lee
#35. What a cruel thing is war: to separate and destroy families and friends, and mar the purest joys and happiness God has granted us in this world; to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbors, and to devastate the fair face of this beautiful world.
Robert E.Lee
#36. It is glorious to see such courage in one so young.
Robert E.Lee
#37. There is a true glory and a true honor: the glory of duty done
the honor of the integrity of principle.
Robert E.Lee
#38. We have but one rule here, and that is that every student must be a gentleman.
Robert E.Lee
#39. 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.
Robert E.Lee
#40. I believe I may so, looking into my own heart, and speaking as in the presence of God, that I have never know one moment of bitterness or resentment.
Robert E.Lee
#41. All military history records the triumphs of discipline and courage far more frequently than numbers and resources.
Robert E.Lee
#42. 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.
Robert E.Lee
#43. We have only one rule here - to act like a gentleman at all times.
Robert E.Lee
#44. Keep steady in the view of the great principles for which you contend. The safety of your homes and the lives of all you hold dear depend upon your courage and exertions. Let each man resolve to be victorious, and that the right of self government, liberty and peace shall find him a defender.
Robert E.Lee
#46. Duty is the sublimest work in the English language.
Robert E.Lee
#47. There is always hazard in military activity, but we must decide between the positive loss of inactivity and the risk of action.
Robert E.Lee
#48. 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.
Robert E.Lee
#49. Abandon your animosities and make your sons Americans!
Robert E.Lee
#50. A land without memories is a people without liberty.
Robert E.Lee
#51. I have been up too congress, and they do not seem to do anything except eat peanuts and chew tobacco while my army is starving ...
Robert E.Lee
#52. 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.
Robert E.Lee
#53. All that the South has ever desired was that the Union, as established by our forefathers, should be preserved, and that the government as originally organized should be administered in purity and truth.
Robert E.Lee
#54. 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.
Robert E.Lee
#55. No day should be lived unless it was begun with a prayer of thankfulness and an intercession for guidance.
Robert E.Lee
#56. We failed, but in the good providence of God apparent failure often proves a blessing.
Robert E.Lee
#57. 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.
Robert E.Lee
#58. We must look to the rising generation for the restoration of the country.
Robert E.Lee
#59. I like whiskey. I always did, and that is why I never drink it.
Robert E.Lee
#60. 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.
Robert E.Lee
#61. Read history, works of truth, not novels and romances
Robert E.Lee
#62. Cadets can neither be treated as schoolboys or soldiers.
Robert E.Lee
#64. We must expect reverses, even defeats. They are sent to teach us wisdom and prudence, to call forth greater energies, and to prevent our falling into greater disasters.
Robert E.Lee
#65. The enemy never sees the backs of my Texans!
Robert E.Lee
#66. All motion is relative. Perhaps it is you who have moved away-by standing still
Robert E.Lee
#67. My heart bleeds at the death of every one of our gallant men.
Robert E.Lee
#68. It is good that war is terrible. Or else we would become too fond of it.
Robert E.Lee
#69. I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot control himself.
Robert E.Lee
#70. 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.
Robert E.Lee
#71. 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.
Robert E.Lee
#72. It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it.
Robert E.Lee
#73. Alabama soldiers, all I ask of you is to keep up with the Texans!
Robert E.Lee
#74. Ideas are easy to conceive, less easy to execute.
Robert E.Lee
#78. For I consider the character of no man affected by a want of success, provided he has made an honest effort to succeed.
Robert E.Lee
#79. The time is not come for impartial history. If the truth were told just now, it would not be credited.
Robert E.Lee
#80. The consolidation of the states into one vast empire, sure to be aggressive abroad and despotic at home, will be the certain precursor of ruin which has overwhelmed all that preceded it.
Robert E.Lee
#81. Traveller is my only companion ... He and I ... wander out in the mountains and enjoy sweet confidence.
Robert E.Lee
#83. Any victory would be dear at such a price.
Robert E.Lee
#85. Lee assess a subordinate commander as all lion; no fox.
Robert E.Lee
#86. Respect is based on Friendship,and friendship is based on love and love is so accidental isn't it ?
Robert E.Lee
#87. Act with a determination not to be turned aside by thoughts of the past and fears of the future.
Robert E.Lee
#88. 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.
Robert E.Lee
#89. In all my perplexities and distresses, the Bible has never failed to give me light and strength.
Robert E.Lee
#90. Obedience to lawful authority is the foundation of manly character.
Robert E.Lee
#91. 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.
Robert E.Lee
#92. I am A man, not a sponge! If god wished a sponge to think, A SPONGE WOULD THINK!
Robert E.Lee
#93. Whither shall I flee? To no country on earth that I know of where there is as much liberty as yet remains to me even in Virginia.
Robert E.Lee
#94. 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.
Robert E.Lee
#95. The biggest mistake of my life was taking a military education.
Robert E.Lee
#96. 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.
Robert E.Lee
#97. I did only what my duty demanded. I could have taken no other course without dishonor.
Robert E.Lee
#98. 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.
Robert E.Lee
#99. I have never witnessed on any previous occasion such entire disregard of the usage of civilized warfare and the dictates of humanity.
Robert E.Lee
#100. 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.
Robert E.Lee
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