William Jennings Bryan Quotes

64 Sourced Quotes

Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved.

William Jennings Bryan
This is not a contest between persons. The humblest citizen in all the land, when clad in the armor of a righteous cause, is stronger than all the hosts of error. I come to speak to you in defence of a cause as holy as the cause of liberty—the cause of humanity.

William Jennings Bryan
The chief duty of governments, in so far as they are coercive, is to restrain those who would interfere with the inalienable rights of the individual, among which are the right to life, the right to liberty, the right to the pursuit of happiness and the right to worship God according to the dictates of ones conscience.

William Jennings Bryan
A belief in God is fundamental; upon it rest the influences that control life.

William Jennings Bryan
The first thing to understand is the difference between the natural person and the fictitious person called a corporation. They differ in the purpose for which they are created, in the strength which they possess, and in the restraints under which they act.

William Jennings Bryan
If you want criticisms, read the dissenting opinions of the Court. That will give you criticisms.

William Jennings Bryan
This nation is able to legislate for its own people on every question, without waiting for the aid or consent of any other nation on earth.

William Jennings Bryan
The human measure of a human life is its income; the divine measure of a life is its outgo, its overflow its contribution to the welfare of all.... If every word spoken in behalf of truth has its influence and every deed done for the right weighs in the final account, it is immaterial to the Christian whether his eyes behold victory or whether he dies in the midst of conflict.

William Jennings Bryan
Selfish interest is one of the most common obstructions to the advance of truth.

William Jennings Bryan
Christians desire that their children shall be taught all the sciences, but they do not want them to lose sight of the Rock of Ages while they study the age of rocks...

William Jennings Bryan
If we desire rules to govern our spiritual development we turn back to the Sermon on the Mount.

William Jennings Bryan
No greater victory can be won by citizens or soldiers than to transform temporary foes into permanent friends.

William Jennings Bryan
Nation after nation, when at the zenith of its power, has proclaimed itself invincible because its army could shake the earth with its tread and its ships could fill the seas, but these nations are dead, and we must build upon a different foundation if we would avoid their fate.

William Jennings Bryan
Evolution seems to close the heart to some of the plainest spiritual truths while it opens the mind to the wildest guesses advanced in the name of science.

William Jennings Bryan
In commemoration of the fact that France was our ally in securing independence the citizens of that nation joined with the citizens of the United States in placing in New York harbor an heroic statue representing Liberty enlightening the world. What course shall our nation pursue? Send the statue of Liberty back to France and borrow from England a statue of William the Conqueror?

William Jennings Bryan
Belief in God is almost universal and the effect of this belief is so vast that one is appalled at the thought of what social conditions would be if reverence for God were erased from every heart.

William Jennings Bryan
Love makes money-grabbing seem contemptible; love makes class prejudice impossible; love makes selfish ambition a thing to be despised; love converts enemies into friends.

William Jennings Bryan
We have our thoughts, our hopes, our fears, and yet we know that in a moment a change may come over any one of us that will convert a living, breathing human being into a mass of lifeless clay.

William Jennings Bryan
Wars are sometimes waged to extend trade-the blood of many being shed to enrich a few.

William Jennings Bryan
Agnosticism is the natural attitude of the evolutionist. How can a brute mind comprehend spiritual things?

William Jennings Bryan
If it be true, as I believe it is, that morality is dependent upon religion, then religion is not only the most practical thing in the world, but the first essential.

William Jennings Bryan
The Old Testament gave us the law; the New Testament reveals the love upon which the law rests.

William Jennings Bryan
If there is no God there is no hereafter. When, therefore, one drives God out of the universe he closes the door of hope upon himself.

William Jennings Bryan
Darwin begins by assuming life upon the earth; the Bible reveals the source of life and chronicles its creation.

William Jennings Bryan
The speech of one who knows what he is talking about and means what he says-it is thought on fire.

William Jennings Bryan