Eamon de Valera Quotes

In my life as a soldier and citizen, I have seen time and time again that inaction has dire consequences.

A leader is one who, out of madness or goodness, volunteers to take upon himself the woe of the people. There are few men so foolish, hence the erratic quality of leadership in the world.

You have to step up when your number is called.

We were elected to lead and sometimes we just have to do the right thing.

Whatever happens, take responsibility.

Here's the teaching point, if you're teaching kids about intelligence and policy: Intelligence does not absolve policymakers of responsibility to ask tough questions, and it doesn't absolve them of having curiosity about the consequences of their actions.

When one man, for whatever reason, has the opportunity to lead an extraordinary life, he has no right to keep it to himself.

Great leaders are willing to sacrifice the numbers to save the people. Poor leaders sacrifice the people to save the numbers.

It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we do not do.

A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.

In the military, I learned that 'leadership' means raising your hand and volunteering for the tough, important assignments.

And if the great fear had not come upon me, as it did, and forced me to do my duty, I might have been less good to the people than some man who had never dreamed at all, even with the memory of so great a vision in me.

It is the high privilege and sacred duty of those now living to educate their successors and fit them, by intelligence and virtue, for the inheritance which awaits them.

We are all responsible for our actions and our failures to act.

[President] McKinley gave [Lt. Andrew Sommers] Rowan a letter to be delivered to [General Calixto] Garcia: Rowan took the letter and did not ask, "Where is he at?" By the eternal, there is a man whose form should be cast in deathless bronze and the statue placed in every college in the land. It is not book learning that young men need, nor instruction about this and that, but a stiffening of the vertebrae which will cause them to be loyal to a trust to act promptly, concentrate their energies, do the thing—"carry a message to Garcia.

To lead comes from a Latin root which literally means to go out and die.

Whoever can, should.

In life, you'll often find that having influence and providing sound advice is a good thing, even if it attracts criticism or requires some sacrifice.

We have, all of us, our duties. Every action of our lives, and every word that we utter, will either conduce to or detract from the discharge of our duty.

Sometimes we just sit around and sit on our hands and don't do anything because it's like, 'Hey, that's not my problem.' You can't do that when you're a superhero.

I have to take care of my family, my team, and my legacy.

I really believe, if I learned anything in the military, it was that I was accountable for my actions and I like to be part of the team that kind of brings that back to Washington, D.C. - not just responsibility, but accountability and being ready to lose my job over doing what's right.

We are not only responsible for what we do but also for what we do not do.

Do your duty today and repent tomorrow.

Duty is heavy as a mountain, death is light as a feather.