George Washington
George Washington, the 1st President of the United States of America. Original Publication: From the engraving by W Nutter, after CG Stuart Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Friday marks the 287th birthday of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Washington, a revolutionary hero who played a major role in the birth of America, was born in a Virginia plantation family on Feb. 22, 1732 and was sworn in as the president in 1789.

In celebration of the political hero’s birthday, here are 20 of his most inspiring quotes -

  1. “Let your heart feel for the afflictions and distress of everyone, and let your hand give in proportion to your purse.”
  2. “It should be the highest ambition of every American to extend his views beyond himself and to bear in mind that his conduct will not only affect himself, his country and his immediate posterity; but that its influence may be co-extensive with the world and stamp political happiness or misery on ages yet unborn.”
  3. “There is nothing which can better deserve your patronage, than the promotion of science and literature. Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness.”
  4. “True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity, before it is entitled to the appellation."
  5. “It will be found an unjust and unwise jealousy to deprive a man of his natural liberty upon the supposition he may abuse it.
  6. “Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence.”
  7. “Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.”
  8. “If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”
  9. “The marvel of all history is the patience with which men and women submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments.”
  10. “I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.”
  11. “The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government.”
  12. “It is impossible to account for the creation of the universe without the agency of a Supreme Being.”
  13. “Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair; the rest is in the hands of God.”
  14. “Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation."
  15. “Happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected.”
  16. "It is better to be alone than in bad company."
  17. “The turning points of lives are not the great moments. The real crises are often concealed in occurrences so trivial in appearance that they pass unobserved."
  18. “Human happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected."
  19. “Let us therefore animate and encourage each other, and show the whole world that a Freeman, contending for liberty on his own ground, is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth.”
  20. “Perseverance and spirit have done wonders in all ages.”
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