We must ever keep the core of our national being sound, and see to it that not only our citizens in private life, but, above all, our statesmen in public life, practice the old, commonplace virtues which from time immemorial have lain at the root of all true national well-being.
In "The Strenuous Life," Roosevelt stresses the importance of maintaining the nation's moral core through the practice of traditional virtues by both citizens and leaders.
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More from Teddy Roosevelt
I absolutely agree with you that this matter is not one to be decided with any reference to the personal preferences or interests of any man, but purely from the standpoint of the interests of the people as a whole.
No man is worth his salt in public life who makes on the stump a pledge which he does not keep after election; and, if he makes such a pledge and does not keep it, hunt him out of public life.
I care for the great deeds of the past chiefly as spurs to drive us onward in the present.
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