Arthur Wellesley

"A man who serves others serves himself."

"I have always believed that beauty lies in simplicity."

"The pursuit of justice requires patience and perseverance."

"I have never found fulfillment in the pursuit of pleasure alone."

"One must be willing to pay the price for conviction."

"I have learned that every ending is a new beginning."

"A true education teaches one how to think, not what to think."

"I have always valued loyalty above all other virtues."

"The whole art of Government consists in the art of being honest."

"Publish and be damned."

"I don't know what effect these men will have upon the enemy, but, by God, they frighten me."

"The bravest thing the British soldier can do is to run away."

"So you begin to understand that success requires not merely action, but the right action at the right time."

"There is no merit in punishing the innocent, though it may satisfy the vengeful."

"A man may as well attempt to turn the course of the Thames with his bare hands as to stop the course of human nature."

"The most important thing in any negotiation is to know when to hold firm and when to yield."

"Professions are a curse to any nation where they are followed merely for profit."

"One should as soon expect to return from the dead as to recover a reputation once lost."

"A man of true honour is never disgraced by misfortune."

"The test of a gentleman is his ability to tolerate uncomfortable opinions without anger."

"History is a set of lies agreed upon, and I have made my share of agreements."

"I have always been of the opinion that the heaviest blow which the British Empire could sustain would be the loss of India."

"The great art of all government is to act with the nation and not against it."

"We live in a strange age when men prefer comfort to truth."

"Patience is the virtue of the strong, not the weakness of the weak."

"The only thing certain in life is that nothing is certain—except my pension."

"A soldier's first duty is obedience, but a leader's first duty is conscience."

"The man who fears nothing is either very brave or very foolish, and often both."

"I have seen a good deal of service, and I believe I have derived benefit from every mistake."

"The weakness of men is not their strength, but their unwillingness to use it wisely."