"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."

"I am not an American. I am the American."

"If Christ were here now there is one thing he would not be—a Christian."

"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example."