"A wild boar stood under a tree, and rubbed his tusks against the trunk. A fox passing by asked him why he thus sharpened his teeth when there was no danger threatening from either huntsman or hound. He replied, "I do it advisedly; for it would never do to have to sharpen my weapons just at the time I ought to be using them." To be well prepared for war is the best guarantee of peace." – The Fables of Aesop, published by Henry Altemus Company, 1899.
"The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid "dens of crime" that Dickens loved to paint. It is not even done in concentration camps and labor camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried and minuted) by quiet men in clean, carpeted and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voices." – C.S. Lewis. The Screwtape Letters
“We don’t talk Yakkity Yak. We talk lead.” – The fictional character Earl Swagger in the novel Hot Springs by Stephen Hunter
“Inflation hasn’t ruined everything. A dime can still be used as a screwdriver. ” – Quoted in P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
“The lioness is often more formidable than the lion. No instinct is stronger than that of mother protecting child. There is nothing unfeminine about strength and empowerment.” – Massad Ayoob
"In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has." – Proverbs 21:20
“The protection guaranteed by the amendments is much broader in scope. The makers of our Constitution undertook to secure conditions favorable to the pursuit of happiness. They recognized the significance of man’s spiritual nature, of his feelings and of his intellect. They knew that only a part of the pain, pleasure and satisfactions of life are to be found in material things. They sought to protect Americans in their beliefs, their thoughts, their emotions and their sensations. They conferred, as against the government, the right to be let alone-the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized …
"Nothing so cements and holds together all the parts of a society as faith or credit, which can never be kept up unless men are under some force or necessity of honestly paying what they owe to one another." – Cicero
“There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.” – Robert Woodruff (President Ronald Wilson Reagan had this quote posted on his desk at the White House)
“Can’t you hear, can’t you hear the thunder? You better run, you better take cover.” – Men at Work, Down Under
"I am a strong believer in luck and find the harder I work the more I have of it." – Benjamin Franklin
"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better" – Samuel Beckett
“The law of the LORD [is] perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD [is] sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD [are] right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD [is] pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD [is] clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD [are] true [and] righteous altogether. More to be desired [are they] than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.” – Psalm 19:7-10 (KJV)
"A pistol defends your property and your person from unanticipated and barely anticipated threats from thieves and robbers. With it, you can control your immediate environment. A rifle defends your freedom from oppressors and tyrants. With it, you can enforce your will." – Gabe Suarez
"Whoever looks upon them merely as an irregular mob will find himself much mistaken. They have men among them who know very well what they are about, having been employed as rangers against the Indians and Acadians; and this country being much covered with wood and hilly is very advantageous for their method of fighting." – Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland, from a letter written April 20, 1775