Quotes by Samuel Adams

• The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on Earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but only to have the law of nature for his rule.
• Our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for civil and religious liberty.
• Mankind are governed more by their feelings than by reason.
• It does not take a majority to prevail... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.
• It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds.
• How strangely will the Tools of a Tyrant pervert the plain Meaning of Words!
• He who is void of virtuous attachments in private life is, or very soon will be, void of all regard for his country. There is seldom an instance of a man guilty of betraying his country, who had not before lost the feeling of moral obligations in his private connections.
• We cannot make events. Our business is wisely to improve them.
• The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution, are worth defending against all hazards: And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks.
• The Constitution shall never be construed... to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.
• Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: First a right to life, secondly to liberty, and thirdly to property; together with the right to defend them in the best manner they can.
• We are living at a time when creeds and ideologies vary and clash. But the gospel of human sympathy is universal and eternal.
• Success is not always measured by the end result, but by the journey taken to get there.
• Life is like a mountaineering expedition; the stumbles can be embarrassing, but the views from the top are worth every misstep.
• Looking for happiness is like hunting your shadow—the more you chase it, the more it eludes you; sit quietly in the sunshine, and it will find you.
• Success is like a ladder; if you don't climb it one step at a time, you'll end up in a heap at the bottom.
• Success is best defined as the staircase you built, not merely the view from the top.
• Success is like a wet bar of soap; just when you think you’ve got a good grip, it slips right through your fingers.