F. Scott Fitzgerald Quotes

The price of greatness is responsibility.

To us Americans much has been given; of us much is required. With all our faults and mistakes, it is our strength in support of the freedom our forefathers loved which has saved mankind from subjection to totalitarian power.

More than any other people on Earth, we bear burdens and accept risks unprecedented in their size and their duration, not for ourselves alone but for all who wish to be free.

Let me make a solemn pledge before all of you, before the whole world and before God, that I will devote all my energy and all I possess in my power to serve the people of Nigeria and humanity.

To save your world you asked this man to die; would this man, could he see you now, ask why?

In all of my books, I'm taking them on an emotionally challenging and sometimes physically dangerous process with a bit of fun and anarchy along the way. With the power comes responsibility.

We, the People, recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that a freedom which only asks what's in it for me, a freedom without a commitment to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who died in their defense.

Men must stop being jealous of their power and generously allow freedom and responsibility to others. The reward is harmonious families and society.

To act is to be committed, and to be committed is to be in danger.

Man is constantly being assured today that he has more power than ever before in history, but his daily experience is one of powerlessness. If he is with a business organization, the odds are great that he has sacrificed every other kind of independence in return for that dubious one known as financial. Modern social and corporate organization makes independence an expensive thing; in fact, it may make common integrity a prohibitive luxury for the ordinary man.

Freedom is great, but expensive.

The willing sacrifice of the innocent is the most powerful answer to insolent tyranny that has yet been conceived by God or man.

I own frankly now that I am to engage, that what I may do may be reckoned and will be reckoned desperate. All appearances seem to be against me. Interest, prudence, and the obligations to you which I lie under, will prevent most people in my situation from taking a resolution that may probably end in my utter ruin. My life, my fortune, my expectations, the happiness of my wife and children are all at stake …, and yet a principle (what seems to me) honour, and my duty to King and Country, outweighs everything.

They serve so that we don't have to. They offer to give up their lives so that we can be free. It is, remarkably, their gift to us. And all they ask for in return is that we never send them into harm's way unless it is absolutely necessary. Will they ever trust us again?

He goes seeking liberty, which is so dear, as he knows who for it renounces life.

My promises to the people for whom I have waged war have been fulfilled — to accomplish their independence and leave the choice of their rulers to their own will. The presence of an unfortunate soldier, however disinterested he may be, is not desirable in newly constituted states. On the other hand, I am tired of having it said that I wish to make myself King. In short, I shall always be ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for the liberty of the country, but as in the character of a simple private citizen and in no other.

Power invariably means both responsibility and danger.

… the cause for which we fought was higher; our thought wider... That thought was our power

A degree of silence envelops [George] Washington’s actions; he moved slowly; one might say that he felt charged with future liberty, and that he feared to compromise it. It was not his own destiny that inspired this new species of hero: it was that of his country; he did not allow himself to enjoy what did not belong to him; but from that profound humility what glory emerged! Search the woods where Washington’s sword gleamed: what do you find? Tombs? No; a world! Washington has left the United States behind for a monument on the field of battle.

Love should be an inspiration, not an obligation.

It's an important lesson Dad instilled in me, the idea that we have the freedom to serve, and that the choice to serve can define the type of life you live.

Who are we to think that our generation is going to be the first generation to benefit from all the sacrifices that others have made without giving some modern-day equivalent of our own lives, fortunes, and sacred honor?

Leadership has a price.

If you want to play, you gotta pay.

True leadership is when you are willing to risk your power and voice so that all of ours can be heard.