The men who have made our national greatness are those who faced danger and overcame it, who met difficulties and surmounted them, not those whose lines were cast in such pleasant places that toil and dread were ever far from them.
From an address on the importance of effort and struggle, this passage defines the qualities of those who contribute to national greatness.
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The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood.
The man who does nothing cuts the same sordid figure in the pages of history, whether he be cynic, or fop, or voluptuary.
The American people by a great plurality have conferred upon you the highest honor in their gift.
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